Iron Fist Wedding
by MetalSamamon
Summary: CHAPTER 11 IS UP! FINALLY! This story takes place after the Big O anime, and follows the negotiator of a different city; plus features a crossover with Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright! Please Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1: The professor

'Iron Fist Wedding' – Chapter 1, "The professor":

(Author's notes on bottom)

In a corner of his room, William's phone rings. William, in the opposite corner of his room asleep, suddenly wakes up upon hearing the ring. He yawns, and stands to stretch. He is weak with exhaustion, but still finds the strength to stand to his feet. He slowly makes his way across the small room to the table near his bed to answer the still ringing phone.

"Uh, hello?" William groggily says into the receiver. "William? Is that you?" the voice answered back. "Maybe...who's this?" William asks, a little more awake. "Come on William...it hasn't been that long, has it?" the voice asked him. William paused for a moment to think, and then replied, "Professor Rezno?" "Yes! It's (cough) me. How good it is to hear your voice again...(cough)" the professor managed to spit out before breaking out into a coughing fit. "Professor! Professor! Are you alright!" William spoke loudly into the phone; but not yelling and remaining calm and collected. "No, William I'm not. (cough) That's why I called you..." The professor's voice grew weak. "What is it?" William tried to force the words out of the professor. "You see Bill, (hack) there's no easy way to say this...(wheeze)" the professor tries to say. "It must be important; you never call me Bill." William tells him. William hears a couple of coughs in the earpiece, and then the professor tells him. "I'm dying."

Upon hearing this, William looks up in shock, but his face only shows this slightly. He searches his mind for words. "O.K. Michael, try to hold on until I get there..." William looks at his caller I.D., "You're at the city hospital, right?" "Yes, Bill, I am..." The professor hacks for a few seconds uncontrollably, "Please hurry!" "I'm on my way!" and with that William hangs the phone up. He quickly grabs his coat and races down the stairs.

As he heads down the rickety staircase he's stopped by his old landlord. "William? Is that you?" the landlord adjusts his glasses that rest upon the edge of his wrinkled nose. "Yes Juan, it's me." He replies hurriedly. "Why the rush amigo?" the landlord asks as he moves closer to William's voice. William backs away, as he's creeped out by the old man. "What do you want? I'm in a hurry." William asks him. "I was wondering if you've got an answer to my proposal..." he asks William. "Uh...not yet. But I'm considering it." William says nervously, and sneaks past the landlord. "Alright. I'll buy that for now gringo...but I expect a real answer soon..." Juan says in the direction where William was. He slowly turns around with his cane and walks back into the office. "Uh...foolish old man. Why doesn't he go back to where he came from?" William states to himself as he exits out the front door. It slams behind him, and creaks open slowly again. "I really need to move!" William mutters sarcastically and uses his remote control on his keychain to open his car door. He hops in and closes the gull-wing doors. He presses a few keys on the dash keyboard, and the car lifts into the air and takes off like a bullet.

In a matter of minutes, William is clear across the city and at the hospital. He hops out, and activates the car's shields. They flicker on for a second, and then fade out like they're supposed to in order to conceal the theft-protection system. He runs up to the platform to the moving escalator, and flashes his I.D. in front of a scanner at the entrance. It flashes a green light, and a small hologram of a man appears. "Thank you William Prime." The man in the hologram states, smiles, and then disappears. The glass doors spread with a whooshing sound, and William enters the escalator chamber. As he rises up towards the hospital complex; he looks out towards the city skyline. "Wow, Brasilli sure has changed..." William's voice trails off as he stares in awe at the massive buildings made of glass and metal. They tower so high that William has a hard time viewing the tops of them due to the upper atmosphere clouds blocking his view. He watches cars zoom around high above the forgotten land below in the distance, and smiles. He turns his attention back to the escalator as he reaches the 90th floor. The glass doors here open up, and he walks into the lobby. He looks over to his left and sees a nurse seated behind a desk. To his right and in front of him are long, white, hollow corridors with many doors on both sides of each.

He proceeds to make his way over to the nurse's desk. "Greetings! How may I help you?" the pretty young nurse behind the desk asks him. She's a redhead with sparkling blue eyes and red lips. William's eyes drift down towards her low-cut dress top; but then he shakes his head and looks up at her face. "Yes...I was wondering if you could tell me what room Michael Rezno is in?" he asks her. "Not a problem sir...one moment." She says as she opens a small panel on her arm, revealing a keypad and a small screen. William's head moves back slightly in shock, but then he leans forward towards the desk a little. "So, you're an android. I'm not familiar with your model..." William says as he once again tries to peer down her cleavage. "I'm a TPH-04 model..." she says without turning away from her arm monitor. She punches in some more keys as William continues to speak to her. "Really? I've heard of that line before; I mean 'The Perfect Human' line from Warsaw Industries, but I've never actually seen your model before." "Yeah, I'm the newest. The line is designated to have a run of 13 models..." she says and turns to him to smile. He leans back uneasily and returns a shaky grin. "Alright sir. The patient Michael Rezno is here at this hospital. May I ask whom you are?" she asks him. "My name's William Prime. He's been expecting me." William replies. She turns back towards her arm screen and hits a few keys. "Indeed he has. He's in room 90-210. Down corridor A sir." She says and closes her arm screen. "Thanks!" William says and winks. The nurse merely tilts her head slightly at this action, and smiles.

"Man I must be crazy; I'm hitting on androids!" William says as he begins to run down the corridor towards room 210. As he passes rooms he looks at them. 'Android repair bay', 'Android core programming restoration chamber', 'Cyborg implant replacements', 'Human limb therapy bay'; the rooms seem endless as he finally made his way to the 'Human final care bay'. He looks at the sign next to the doors that state the room numbers. "Yes, it's here!" William says as the doors open in front of him. He enters the room and sprints down another corridor. "You'd think they'd make these hospital rooms easier to get to..." his voice trails off as he finally reaches Room 90-210. He peers through the small window on the door to see the professor lying in a bed watching a small floating television screen. William knocks on the door, and the professor looks over. His face lights up, and he shuts off the T.V. with a remote control. It retracts into a small compartment in the ceiling, and the professor presses a button on his remote with great discomfort, and the door clicks unlock. William enters.

"I knew you'd come..." The professor says with a smile and then coughs into a handkerchief. "Professor Rezno; it's been too long." William says and walks over quickly to the bedside. "Please Bill, call me Mike. We've known each other far too long to be formal." The professor states with a light laugh, but then hacks into the handkerchief again. "It's O.K. Mike; don't try to laugh..." William says as he grasps Mike's hand. Mike's grin grows a little more upon his old wrinkly face and his dark brown eyes seem dull and flat. The few strands of hair left upon his head are gray and wispy, and his fingernails are long from lack of trimming. "I appreciate you coming here (cough) Bill...I wanted a friend in my final hour." The professor confesses. "There's one thing I don't get Mike...you were in such good health for a 110 year old man; what happened?" William asked him. "Well, that actually relates to why I asked you to come here Bill (wheeze)" Mike moves the handkerchief to his mouth with his now shaking hand. Bill stares at it in despair, and sighs. "What did you call me for?" William asks him, still holding Mike's other hand. "Well, you see..." Mike says as he wipes his mouth slowly, "I have something of great importance to give you."

"What!" William asks stunned. "Yes, I couldn't leave it with any of my colleagues back at the ACE Corporation..." the professor's voice trailed off as he began to lose conscience. "Wake up!" William shouted in a loud yet calm voice. "Huh? What...oh yeah." The professor began as he woke up again. "As I was saying, I need to give this to you..." he gestures shakily with his hand to a small box next to the bed beside William's feet. William looks down, and grabs the box. "Can I open it?" William asks him. "Please, by all means do...that's why I brought it with me when (cough) they picked me up to come here." He tells William as William releases the professor's hand and opens the box. Inside is a small device that is no bigger than half of a keyboard and has a small screen with several keys with strange symbolic writing on them. It is shaped like a T-Bone steak, is black in color with light gray symbols on the keys, and has a small port on the top of it.

"What is it?" William asks him. "I guessed that's what you were going to (hack) ask." The professor says and William merely squints his eyes. "It's a core transfer program. Basically what it does is transfer one android's main CPU to itself...but in the past." The professor explains. William's eyes grow wide, and his mouth opens slightly. "Wow...so basically this is a time traveling device." William says. "Yes, in short; (wheeze) but it only works on androids. However, a human could alter the android's programming, thus making the android rewrite the human's past...and that is why (cough) it's so dangerous." The professor explains. William rubs his chin. "Well, I guarantee that I'll take care of it; but why to me? Why not one of the professors at ACE?" "You see Bill, that's why I'm here. They found out about my invention, and wanted to use it for their own greedy deeds. So, I gather that one of them poisoned me somehow, and now I'm here." Mike begins to cough up blood. William pages a nurse with the remote from Mike's lap. "Please Bill, don't bother them. I'll be dead long before they get here." The professor says, his black skin giving off a luminous shine in the pale lighting of the room. "There's a notebook in the bottom (hack) of the box; it should explain everything you (cough) need (hack) to know..." the professor's voice trails off as he begins to lose conscience again. "Mike! Mike!" William shouts in a monotone voice to the professor. His eyes barely open as blood dibbles down his chin and onto his hospital gown. "Tell my tale to those who ask; the evil deeds along with the good." He gasps for breath for the last time, "The rest is silence..." As the professor says this, the last breath leaves his body and his hand goes limp and falls to the bed. William hangs his head and begins to cry softly to himself as he once again grabs the professor's dead hand. "I loved you like a brother, Mike. Although you were only my father's friend and business partner; I adored you like my own father; perhaps even thought of you as my father when he died. I only wish I would have told you…I will miss you dearly." William says and he lets go and stands to his feet with the box and salutes the dead professor.

Just then the door bursts open and nurses and doctors rush in. As some attend to the professor's dead body trying to revive it; the others talk to William. "What happened?" they ask William. He could tell that they were androids by the lack of irises in their eyes (the old models were like that). "He fulfilled his destiny." William stated, and left the room.

Author's notes:

I hope you like the story so far. Just so you know think of this as a traditional Japanese anime cartoon; like a magna. And thanks for reading it; feel free to post any and all comments!


	2. Chapter 2: The dreams

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 2: "The dreams".

(Author's Notes on Bottom)

William seats himself at his desk inside his apartment. A million thoughts race through his mind; but none make sense. He looks at his watch in disappointment. "It's only 9:10; I wish I didn't have to work in the morning..." he mutters to himself as he reaches inside his newly acquired box and pulls out the infamous device. As he sets it down the device makes a light thud against his wood table. He gives the device a light spin, and it spins in a circle much the same way a top does and slowly comes to a stop. He grimaces and stands from his chair. "Why did the professor have to give me this; I don't need this responsibility." He mutters as he walks away from the table and into the kitchen. It's a small kitchen, with an old electric stove and refrigerator. He has no dishwasher, just a sink basin with a few unwashed dishes and a green sponge in it. His cabinets are made of wood, and in disrepair. In one of them he finds a box of cereal, and removes the ageless box. From another cabinet he removes a bowl and pours the cereal into the bowl. Light fills the room as he opens the refrigerator to get the milk. He sighs, and pours the milk onto the cereal and caps the milk afterward. After he puts it away, he grabs a spoon from a drawer under his countertop and places it in the cereal. As he makes his way back to his living room, he sees the device lying upon his desk. "Gee, and I was half-expecting something to happen." he mutters and laughs as he walks past the still-unchanged device.

The cushions are soft against his tired body on his sofa next to his desk. He turns on a small floor lamp and reclines on the sofa; smiling in comfort. As he bites into his cereal, he turns on the T.V. that is an extremely old floor based model. "Yes! It's a rerun of Transformers: Cybertron!" he proclaims. It's about half way through the episode, but he watches with excitement. Pretty soon the cereal's all gone, the episode's over; and he turns off the T.V. "Wow, what a boring day! I wish I had something to do!" he sighs, and lies down on the sofa. As he closes his eyes, he gets an unnerving feeling that he's being watched. He cracks his right eye open to peer at the desk; and more importantly what's on it. He blinks and dismisses it in his mind as nothing; and closes his eyes again. But the feeling grows, and he opens his eyes again to see the device within his view at the edge of the desk. "That can't be right..." he begins as he tries to ignore this and closes his eyes again. But then he feels something on his leg. His eyes flash open and he immediately looks at his leg to see the device standing up upon his leg with the screen facing him as if it were staring at him. When he tries to move; he realizes that he can't from total fear. He blinks but for a second and the device is now in his face; right next to his nose. The screen begins to flash a message, "The answer to all lies in Paradigm." But then the screen begins to change, and the dull grey letters in the message change to bright red and appear to grow brighter in luminosity, and a cable juts out from the top connector port and lunges towards his face.

Suddenly he jumps up from the sofa and grabs his face to find nothing. He quickly pans the room to see the device lying upon the table just as he had left it; and realizes that his brow is full of sweat. He shakes off a cold shiver, and tries to get a grip upon himself. "Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream," he repeats to himself quickly and in a low tone, "it was just a dream." He looks over at his T.V. to see that it's still on, and an old episode of Digimon is playing. On the carpeted floor lies the partially empty bowl of cereal with the rest of it on the ground; soaking in. He sighs, and goes into the kitchen to grab a rag to clean up the mess. "I wonder how long I was asleep; I didn't even notice." he mutters as he looks at his watch. The electronic display reads 9:48. "Great."

He opens the door to he restroom and opens his zipper. As he urinates into the toilet; he looks above it and sees an old picture of him and the professor taken several years back at a picnic. In the bottom corner of the picture the words, 'Me and my father's partner Professor Michael Rezno, at the First Annual ACE Corporation Picnic'. There is also a date, but it's covered by the frame. As he finishes, he smiles, zips up, and flushes. While he washes his hands, he thinks about the good times he had with his father. He stares in the mirror at his uncertain reflection, and blinks. He walks out and turns off the light in the bathroom by waving his hand in front of a switch. The light flickers on as he waves his hand in front of the switch for it in his bedroom. Lying on the floor is a stuffed teddy bear, and a toy Megatron. But he stops, and exits the room and back into his living room. "I'm not leaving you out here." he states as he grabs the device from off of the desk and carries it into the bedroom with him. He admires the buttons on it, and the way it feels in his hand. "I wonder if this thing even works", he mutters as he begins to laugh lightly. He sets the device down on his dresser and grabs a comb from the dresser top. His hair is rather smooth for the lack of care he gives it, and the comb flows through it smoothly and without resistance. The mirror upon his dresser reveals a more at ease William with a smug grin upon his face and a pleasant demeanor. He slowly crawls into his bed, and reaches for the alarm on the table next to the bed. "6:00 it is!" he proclaims softly and sets the alarm. Yawning, he stretches and pulls the covers over his body. He grabs a small tool from the table and removes his contacts with it. Finally he feels set and waves his hand in front of a switch near his bed, and the lights go out. He closes his eyes.

RRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG! The alarm breaks the silence of his slumber and he quickly turns it off. "Oh, is it 6:00 already?" he asks himself as he rubs his eyes. He stands up, and walks over to the dresser to grab a change of clothes when he realizes the device is gone. "Oh no...this is not good." he says and begins to look around on the floor

to see if it had fallen off, but it's no where to be found. "Come on; it's got to be here!" he states as he gets on his hands and knees to look under the dresser. "That's odd." he mutters when he notices nothing under there. But when he stands to his feet the device is back on the dresser. He jumps back in shock, but remains calm. "I don't know how you did that; but..." he begins to say to the device when the screen activates. The same message flashes upon the screen, "The answer lies to all lies in Paradigm.", and he grabs the device and chucks it out his bedroom window, shattering the glass and the inner frame of the pane.

RRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG! The alarm breaks the noise of his slumber and he quickly turns it off. "Oh, that dream sucked!" he proclaimed and quickly rose to his feet. Barely rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he rushes over to the dresser to see the device still sitting there. "Where in the hell is Paradigm?" he asks himself, and picks up the device. He examines it, and taps the screen with his finger. "What are you?" he asks it; almost expecting it to answer. But it just lies in his hand, unchanged. He sets it back down with caution and grabs a change of underwear and socks from the dresser. "Too bad I have to go to work today; else wise I might just try to figure you out." he says to the device as he takes off his socks and changes them. His closet door creaks open as he opens it and enters. He grabs one of several uniforms hanging on a rack and removes the hanger from it. Tossing the hanger aside, he changes into the uniform and adjusts his tie. It's a slick black uniform suit with a white undershirt and black slacks. "William Prime is on the job!" he proclaims as he admires himself in the mirror.

He goes to the dresser and grabs his watch that he took off last night. "Good, it's only 6:10. Plenty of time to check my mail and perhaps do some research..." he says and glances at the device lying on the dresser. He walks over to the dresser and grabs the device along with his comb and proceeds to walk into the bathroom. Setting the device down, he combs his hair and makes sure that it's perfect for work. He takes the toothbrush on the sink and brushes his teeth with some toothpaste. After rinsing his mouth out, he looks at his teeth in the mirror and nods approvingly. He grabs the device and leaves the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Into the kitchen he walks and opens the freezer. "Something quick...perhaps waffles." he mutters and he digs out three waffles from a box in the back of the freezer. Popping them into the toaster, he walks into the living room and to his desk. He opens his laptop, and turns it on. It's a fast model, and pretty soon he's connected. Clicking on his mailbox; he has two messages. "Hmm...spam." he laughs lightly and deletes the first message. "Oh..." he starts as he plays the second voice message. It's from his boss. The message says, "Hello William, I've checked my calendar and it appears that you have some vacation time built up. I was wondering when you'd want to take it. Just let me know when you get here. Oh, and there's a new case for you as well, but if you want to wait until after your vacation, that's fine. I could always give it to Grace. Thanks, and by the way, how are you feeling? I hope that cold you had is gone; I miss having a nice young lad like you around here." William smiles and replies. "Hi Rafael. I'm fine now, whatever it was has left just as soon as it came..." he pauses in the middle of his voice message to look at the device, "...I think I'll be taking that vacation tomorrow. I know that it's kind of sudden, but something's come up. You remember Professor Rezno, my dad's partner? Well, he died yesterday, and I need some time to grieve and prepare for his funeral. I'll come in today so I can get my clients in order and inform them of the situation, and break the news to Grace. She didn't know him well, but she met him a couple times at those picnics the ACE Corporation held every year...anyway, I'm sorry that I had to break the news to you like this, but I guess it's better to hear it from me than on the news. I'll be in around 7:30 as usual, and thanks for your concern." he finishes and sends the message.

He opens a map program in his computer and enters 'Paradigm' into the search box. Instantly results appear, and he realizes that Paradigm City is no more than a mere 60 miles south of him. "Huh, that must be the Paradigm the dreams were referring to." he states and prints off directions. "I think I'll take the long way, no sense in rushing my vacation." He grabs the paper he printed off and the device and places them inside the box for the device. He walks back into the kitchen and eats his slightly cold waffles with a mild coating of butter. He adjusts the handkerchief in his suit pocket, and smiles as exits the apartment. "Oh well, at least one day of work before my vacation will be nice; I wonder if there is a negotiator like me in Paradigm City..."

Author's Notes:

The plot thickens as William prepares for an adventure unlike any other he's undertaken in his life. Watch for Chapter 3 coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3: The workplace

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 3: "The workplace".

(Author's Notes on Bottom)

Driving in his car down the open, deserted road; William turns up the radio. It's a song he's familiar with; but can't place the tune. He merely shrugs his shoulders and continues driving down the road. He passes several local shops and stores that he frequents often; and he sees the customers inside shopping and buying their everyday products; unaware of the reality of their own lives. An older couple sitting outside a diner recognizes William and wave; and he waves back with a slight smile. Although William is friendly; he doesn't like to show it. Many of his friends have told him this; and told him so in the past. As their faces fill his memory; he recalls all the past events and even more so the recent ones involving the professor.

Although his car has the ability to float above the ground; he prefers the land routes of old; they bring him a sense of ease and relaxation. He barely even looks up at the cars rushing high above his head through the twisted maze of skyscrapers that make up the city of Brasilli. It would seem that every level of every building has a store-front entrance for shoppers who can take their cars right to the entrance; but he prefers the low road.

He retracts the sunroof; and a gust of cool air quickly immerses the vehicle; and the cool air against his hair makes him sigh deeply and laugh a little. He watches as the street signs whoosh by him and thanks to the split roadways; it's almost a non-stop route directly to his workplace near the edge of the city.

He works in a smaller building; compared to Brasilli standards; only a mere 101 stories tall. It's also pretty old for Brasilli standards; almost 26 years aged. It's more of an office skyscraper than a workplace; with the majority of the floors dedicated to computer engineers who run nearly every aspect of someone's daily life. However, William himself has decided to stay rather low-tech and enjoy the simple life; not being controlled by androids.

He pulls up to the entrance of his work; and parks the car in his usual fashion with the shields. He strolls up to the entrance; the device in his front right pocket; and his hands in his suit coat. He stops only for a brief moment to look up at the building; more precisely the 4th floor on which he works; and then proceeds to make his way to the entrance. With a simple swipe of his I.D. card; the hologram activates and lets him in. Inside; a great rotunda appears and fills his vision with grandeur. A crystal chandelier hangs in the center of the room; and an eloquent but hardly used staircase makes for a nice centerpiece along the wall leading up to the second floor. But instead of admiring the splendor of the room; he casually walks over to the elevator located near the far wall and presses the up button. As the elevator slowly makes it way down towards him from its lofty perch; he bites his lip a little in unnerving anticipation of his first day back at work in nearly 2 weeks. The door to the elevator slowly creaks open; and he enters. Pressing the 4th floor button; the elevator begins its slow ascent towards his office. The music inside the elevator is its usual slow paced torture of string instruments and a woman with a voice that could murder; but William's somehow found a way to ignore her blood-curdling screech and managed to survive the slow trip up. When the door finally opens after the elevator stops; William casually strolls out and stops just outside the elevator door. He reaches effortlessly into his pants pocket to extract a piece of gum; unwrapping it and placing it into his mouth. The cinnamon rush invigorates his senses; and manages to perk his eyes open a little. With a new gleam in his eyes; he takes measured steps towards the entrance to his workplace. The glass window next to the door is embossed with the words, 'City of Brasilli Negotiator's Office; Sir Rafael Galva & Associates.' He always regretted that his name wasn't on there; but at the same time didn't mind it since he got the majority of cases; Rafael only took the calls and assigned the cases to him. He holds the gum on his tongue and takes a deep breath as he opens the door to the office.

Inside; the room is dimly lit by overhead fluorescent lighting; and his eyes adjusted slowly to the low light. He peered around to see everything pretty much the same as when he left what seems like an eternity ago to him. The black leather chair at his desk is covered in a thin layer of dust; and he lightly blows it off. He takes a seat; and spins around once in the chair. He then proceeds to wheel himself over to the end of his desk and grabs a pencil. His desk is fairly large; made of a dense fibrous wood; and smooth with a nice coat of varnish. He taps the desk with his pencil, and looks around at the stack of papers near the edge of the left side. Pushing with his feet against the ground; he moves over to the stack and grabs the top piece. Chewing on the gum; he reads the paper. "Hmm...this is new." He comments quietly to himself and reads the finely printed words upon the paper. It's a case involving an android that has gone missing from its home, and its human friends are concerned about its well being. He grimaces, and sets the page down. He picks up the next paper in the stack; and pretty soon he realizes that the next few pages are the details of the case; the android's name, make, model; nearly anything and everything that could be known about the case was on those few pages. Accompanying them is some photos and schematics; the usual in his line of work. Sighing; William replaces the pages in order back in the stack and stands from the chair. He walks down the small corridor towards the dark cafeteria; hoping that some small snack would give him the energy to get through the day.

"SURPRISE!" The lights suddenly turn on and Rafael and Grace jump out from behind a table; flailing their arms about in the air. William is taken back by this, and shields his eyes from the bright light. He swallows his gum, and winces in pain for a moment; but recovers quickly. "What in the..." he starts. "Welcome back Bill. It's good to see you again." Rafael states; and approaches William to shake his hand. At first William is unsure; but slowly extends his hand to grasp Rafael's. "Uh...you got a cake?" William comments on the sheet cake lying upon the table with the words 'Welcome Back' written in gel. "Oh, that..." Rafael explains in his light French accent, "That is just a little present from us to you. We weren't sure that you'd return." William shifts his view up to meet Rafael's eyes, "Just how long have you guys been here?" "Nearly 4 hours..." a pretty voice comments from behind Rafael. William moves to look behind Rafael at Grace. "Really?" William comments with a lack of sincerity. "Yeah, but Rafael said you needed some cheering up; so I decided to wait it out with him." She adds.

Upon saying this, William's heart sinks and his expression grows sad. "It's that bad?" Grace asks him. "Yeah, it is." Rafael and William comment at the same time. William looks up and exhales. "Grace; I'm not sure if you remember Professor Michael Rezno..." William begins. "Yeah, that nice old man who worked at ACE. If I recall, he was the first Black man to receive the lifetime achievement award from the company. Wasn't he your father's partner?" She asks. William's expression turns impatient; and he makes an unhappy face. "Yeah; it appears you remember him at least..." he adds, "Anyway, he died yesterday afternoon." "WHAT!" She yells, causing Rafael to flinch at her loud voice. "Yes, but keep your voice down." Rafael retorts, putting a finger in his ear and wiggling it. "Sorry; but he died?" Grace asks in disbelief. "Yeah, I was with him when he passed on. He was a great man; people aren't like that anymore." William states as his expression grows sad once again, "He was my best friend. I still can't believe that he's gone." "These things take time to get over, William. It took me years to get over Ona; it took Grace even longer." Rafael says politely as he pats William on the shoulder lightly, "It's never easy to watch a friend die." "I've just been trying to keep it out of my mind; you know; think of better things." William says as his eyes hold a slight gleam of liquid, but he manages to hold back the tears. "It's O.K. Bill; we're here for you." Grace adds as she walks over to William and reaches for him; but he suddenly pulls back. "Thanks you guys; but I think that I'm going to need some time alone..." William says, and begins to walk away.

"That reminds me...about your vacation..." Rafael begins, and William stops and turns to face him. "...I really need you for this new case..." he starts, and then rubs his chin, "...but considering the circumstances; it's alright. I'm sure Grace can take it." "Thanks Rafael, I appreciate it." William smiles a little, and continues on his way out. But he stops just outside the door, and turns around. "Man, I'm starving. Can I have a piece of that cake?"

Rafael and Grace both begin to laugh and William giggles slightly as he seats himself at the table. He grabs the knife and cuts himself a good sized piece. "Mind if I join in?" Grace asks. "Sure." William says as he places his hand in front of his mouth and hands her the knife with his other hand. "Go ahead." Rafael says and walks towards the door. "You don't want any?" William says as he finishes off his first bite. "No; my body doesn't like sweets as much as it used to." Rafael laughs lightly, and walks out the door; letting it shut behind him. "Gee, I hope William's as O.K. as he leads on..." Rafael comments as he heads towards his desk.

William scarves down another piece of cake, and turns to Grace. "You've hardly touched your piece..." William starts as he looks at Grace playing with her fork. She looks up at him with tears in her eyes, her bleeding mascara running down her face, leaving a trail. William stops chewing, and swallows hard, "Your really hurt by this, aren't you?" "It's not that..." she says, and picks off a tiny piece of cake with her fork. "Oh...?" William mutters lowly as he looks at her through the corner of his eye. She gives him a look of disapprovement, and William backs down. "Something's on your mind; tell me." He says, but his words fall upon deaf ears. She places the food in her mouth slowly and savors the flavor as she slowly pulls the fork out from between her pressed together lips. "What is it?" he asks her again, this time drawing her attention. "It's really nothing Bill..." she begins. "I know you better than that..." William states as he cuts himself another piece; but keeps his eyes on her the whole time. She took at the piece he just cut and laughs a little. "Your cut is off." "That's not what concerns me right now..." He begins as he continues to stare at her. She blinks in confusion, and finally gives in. "Alright, it's you Bill." She says as she wipes away the tracks of her tears from her face. William tilts his head slightly in confusion, "Me?" "Yes, I just can't understand how you can feel nothing for the professor's death." She states coldly. "What's that supposed to mean?" William queries with a slight attitude. "You know what I mean; don't make me explain it." She retorts defiantly. "I'm not so sure I do..." William's demeanor grows more malevolent. "Look at you; you've changed since you got that cold two weeks ago...you're like a wall of ice." She states as she waves her hand in a presentation manner at William. "I...I..." William begins to raise his voice in anger, but stops before he shows any true emotion. "I'm sorry." His voice grows quiet again, and Grace looks at him in sadness. "I guess I just don't know how to handle death." William states as he once again holds back his tears. Grace looks at him with a smile, "It's O.K. Bill; death is never an easy thing to understand. When my mother died; Rafael was devastated; but I was distraught. I couldn't think straight; I couldn't concentrate on my work; I couldn't do anything." Grace tries to comfort William with her words, but William's response is too quick. "Ona died nearly 12 years ago; you were 14," William begins, "Any teenager would have reacted in the same exact way." "Yeah, but you're shutting yourself in Bill; and that's not going to help you deal with his death." If only you knew... William thinks to himself; and finishes off the piece of cake. "I'll be alright Grace; I'm more concerned about you." William quickly changed the topic. "I'll be fine Bill...I didn't know him that well." She states coldly in order to throw William off, but William merely squints in disagreement. "I'll buy that for now..." William kills the conversation and starts on his third piece of cake.

Both of them remain silent for another few minutes until William finishes off the fourth slice of cake, and leans back in discomfort. "Man, you shouldn't eat that so fast; you'll get a stomach ache." Grace comments and points to his stomach with her painted, perfect nails. "Yeah, but all I had this morning was a cold waffle..." William adds, laughing. Grace joins in the laugh, and she stands from the table slowly. "I'm full..."she says as she picks up her plate. William stares at the half-eaten piece of cake as she dumps it into the trash. "So wasteful..." he comments lightly. She doesn't hear him, and places her plate in the small sink they have in the cafeteria. "Are you going to have any more cake; or should I put it away?" she asks him. He looks at the cake, and then his stomach, "I think I'm finished." She laughs lightly as she walks over to the table, picking up the cake. She places it in the small refrigerator and closes the door slowly with her usual style that she puts into everything she does. "Well, I guess I'm going to take that case then..." She comments as she heads towards the door. "Oh yeah..." William begins as he cleans up his mess and places the plate in the sink next to Grace's, "...the case." He walks over to the door and opens it for her, "Could you call them and let them know what's going on? I hope they'll understand since they got their own crisis." He winks at her and she exits the opened door. "Sure Bill, but promise me one thing..." She asks him as she begins to walk away towards his desk to get the papers. "Sure; what's that?" William asks her. "Be like your old self when you get back." The words hit William deep, and he gave her an uneasy grin. "Don't make me promise something that I might not be able to do." William responds. She lowers her head a little, "Just get better then, O.K.?" "Alright...I can promise that much." His smile becomes full, and he follows her as she walks away towards his desk.

At his desk, she gathers up the papers that make up the clients file and places them in a folder she grabbed from his desk drawer. She reaches down towards a drawer near the bottom in search of something, and William rushes over and slams the drawer shut just as she begins to open it. "What's the matter with you!" She demands as she pulls her hand back. Her glare is evil, but William appears unfazed by it. "That's...personal." William states as he slowly rises back to a fully erect stance. "Gee, you could've just told me not to go in there..." Grace states in disgust; casting an examining look upon William. William merely shrugs his shoulders in response. "Sorry..." His voice trails off as he stands between her and the desk. "Can I get a stapler?" She asks sarcastically and holds out her hand. William rolls his eyes and grabs one from on top of the desk, "You just had to ask...I don't go snooping around inside your desk." "Yeah, but I don't keep secrets." She quickly retorted; and proceeded to walk away, her head high. William dismisses her with his hand in a wave-like gesture and sits down in his chair. "Girls...I can't believe I actually liked her." He comments as he peers around to make sure that she was gone. He pulls open the mysterious drawer.

Inside, he removes a small picture of a woman, very pretty; blonde, probably in her early 20's with bright blue eyes and a brilliant smile. From the angle of the photo it's clear that she's holding the camera and taking the picture of herself; and from the background it appears that she's at a party. Her clothes are brightly colored and she has several beaded necklaces on. William holds the photo in his hand for a minute; staring at it as if he wants it to burn from his stare. But then he looks away and stuffs it into his pocket. As he does so, he knocks the device out his pocket; and it falls to the rubber mat below. He looks down in surprise; and reaches down to grab it; but as he does he accidentally presses one of the buttons. The device makes a clicking noise at him, and he brings it up to his chest to view it better. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asks it. It merely sits there; but he notices that the screen is on and giving off a faint glow. "O.K..." He begins, unsure what to do next. He sets the device down; not wishing to make it do anything else. As he does, he realizes that he needs to go. Reaching for the phone upon his desk, he dials a number. The receiver rings as he places it next to his ear.

"Thanks for calling Axalon Airways; can I help you?" The man on the other end asks. William begins, "Yes, I need to book a trip to Paradigm City; I'll be leaving..." "PARADIGM CITY!" The man yells in surprise. William moves the receiver away from his ear for a moment and looks at it; and then replaces it. "Yeah, so?" He asks. "No one goes there; we haven't booked a trip there in nearly 50 years." The man comments in disbelief. "Well, do even have planes going there?" William asks. "No, like I said no one goes there..." the man laughs lightly, "...But we can get you to the outskirts; there's a small airport there. You'd just have to rent a car the rest of the way." "O.K., how much will that cost me?" William asks. "How soon will you be leaving?" The man queries in response. William sighs, "Tomorrow morning." "$490.00 roundtrip." The man replies. "That's fair." William adds. "Just be here at Brasilli International at 6:00. Your flight leaves at 7:15. Your flight number is 515C, and your gate number is 6E." The man states, "Did you want me to fax your ticket to you?" William looks around and sees Grace walking towards him. "No, that's O.K. I'll pick it up at the airport tomorrow. Thanks!" He ends the conversation. "Thanks for calling Axalon Airways!" the man hangs up.

William hangs up just as Grace approaches his desk. "You're still here?" Grace asks him. William looks up at her innocently, "Yeah; still. Just finishing up some paperwork." He comments, and smiles at her innocently. "Looks to me like your playing games..." she states, and points to the desk. "Huh...?" William comments as he looks to where she's pointing. "Oh crap!" He mutters as he realizes he left the device out on the desk in plain sight. "What is that...?" She asks as she reaches for it. "Nothing; it's nothing." William quickly swipes it off the table and holds it close to his body. Grace peers at him with her cold black irises and taps the desk with her long black nails. "Nothing eh?" she comments as she walks up to him. "Then why are you protecting it?" She leaned in close to his face so her breath lingered about his nose. It was warm, and pleasant from the cake. "Don't worry about it; it's just a game pod." He states, laughing a little. "Cool! Let me see it!" She states as she reaches for it, but William quickly stands and back away. "No...I...have a level saved on it; if you touch it I'll have to start all over!" William's lie didn't hold water with Grace as she places her hand upon her hip and walks towards William. "Well then, just let me see it. I've never seen anything like that before..." she began. William knew that he couldn't let her touch it; who knew what the device was capable of, he thought. "Please Grace..." He begs her as he backs away from her slowly and runs into a corner of a wall. "Well, Bill, it looks like your trapped..." she comments as she strolls up to him and presses her body against him. His hand is stuck between her and himself, and he feels the slickness of her black leather outfit rub against his skin. She reaches up and strokes William's hair softly. "Why do you resist me, Bill?" She asks him as she peers into his soft, warm hazel eyes with love and admiration. William feels a hand slide along his body, and grab the waist of his pants.

"Not now Grace!" He yells, but in a tone just loud enough to get her attention. She backs up and adjusts her leather suit, flipping her long black hair back. "O.K. Bill, O.K. You don't have to get pushy..." she winks at him and sticks out her pierced tongue, "I know you want me..." she comments innocently as she walks away shaking her butt at him the whole time. Although William tries to resist; he can't. He watches her and her 'assets' stroll away; but shakes his head free when she turns a corner. "It's still too soon..." He comments and turns to walk down the corridor to leave. "...Maybe I can at least some peace; and those answers; in Paradigm City." He mutters as he opens the door to leave, "I wonder what other surprises await me there; there must be a good reason why no one's been there in nearly 50 years..."

Author's Notes:

William prepares for the trip to Paradigm and tries to hide his secret...but how long can he keep the secret of the device? And what other surprises do await him in Paradigm? Find out in the next exciting chapter of Iron Fist Wedding!


	4. Chapter 4: The airport

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 4, "The airport":

(Author's notes on bottom)

The engine of William's car gives a mighty roar as it thunders down the street away from his workplace. In the back of his mind rest his moral dilemmas; but he can't concentrate on them at the moment. Right now; it's a race against time to get to his home so he can catch a little sleep before he needs to leave in the morning. Although William has always been a law-biding citizen most of the time; the traffic lights are starting to annoy me tremendously. High over head; cars rush through the air-lanes unrestricted by terra firma; and finally William's had enough. He activates the car's thrusters, and lofts himself into the flow of overhead traffic.

The cars up there go quite a bit faster than the ground vehicles; and he has a hard time keeping pace with the unusually fast traffic. Somehow he manages to hold on, and he begins to make excellent time home when his fuel gauge begins to blink. "Ah man, I knew I didn't have enough for a warp jump; but this is ridiculous!" He hangs his head in shameful acceptance; and drives a few more feet to the nearest refueling station. The station is virtually empty; and he easily finds a spot, pulling in with ease. A platform extends out from under the pump and he sets the car down upon it as it gives a slight wobble from the tremendous weight of the car. He steps out onto the top of the platform; and walks over to the edge; but quickly steps back. "Damn, I'm high!" he quietly mutters as he realizes that he's nearly 43 stories off of the ground. "I'd better make this quick!" he rushes over to the pump; a little shaky in each step; and presses the fuel he needs: Standard Gasoline. The pump displays a little screen; asking him for his I.D. and payment. William slowly reaches into his pocket and grabs his I.D. and credit card; swiping one after the other. A message flashes across the screen, thanking William for his time and to begin fueling; and he merely shakes his head in response. "Modern technology..." he grunts as he grabs the gas dispenser and places it inside his open fuel door. As the smelly liquid dispenses; William rests upon the car's hood and looks around at the city in awe. "I wonder if Paradigm can match this level of sophistication." He mutters as he watches cars rush past him just a matter of yards away in every direction. To the untrained eye; it might seem as though these cars are going in no particular direction; and they would crash at any moment; causing a horrible chain reaction that could take many lives; but it almost never happens. William himself is used to the chaotic drivers; but usually doesn't drive in the sky-lanes partially due to his fear of unrestrained heights; and partially because he's pretty cheap, and it costs more in gas to use the car's thrusters and fly around.

The nozzle suddenly stops; startling William as he rises from the hood. "Good, now to get the hell out of here!" He quickly places the nozzle back in its resting spot; and grabs the printing receipt. Without a moment's hesitation; he opens the car door and hops in. "God, I hate the sky-lanes." He mutters reluctantly as he turns the ignition. He stares at the full gauge on his dashboard; smiling. "To home!" he commands to himself as he lifts up off of the platform. As soon as the car's off of the platform, it begins to retract and he speeds off to rejoin the rush of traffic. He flips on the radio and turns up one of his favorite songs. As he does, he hears a horn blare and out of the corner of his eye he sees headlights in his windshield and quickly looks up. "SHIT!" He yells as he jerks the wheel down and he dives below the oncoming red and white semi-truck. As it passes over him he sees the blue undercarriage of the semi; and William breathes a sigh of relief realizing that it missed him by mere feet. He exhales slowly as he once again enters the flow of traffic. "That was too close!" Not losing a moment; William continues on towards home.

As he nears his home; he begins to recognize the neighborhood, even from his high perch above the city. He quickly glances out of the open driver's window; and peers down at the streets below. But no sooner does he pull back, a sudden jolt of fear flushing over him. He lowers the car slowly towards the road below; signaling his intentions with the car to the motorists below. They ease back and allow him to float down and his tires skid across the ground like a plane landing on a runway. However, he doesn't lose hardly any momentum as he continues driving his car towards his home; not stopping for anything other than the occasional traffic light he comes across.

Finally, he makes it to the low-end apartment complex he calls home, and exits his car. With the usual shield activation; he walks up to the entrance hoping that a certain someone isn't there. "I hope I got here before he did..." He quietly says as he slowly opens the creaky entrance door. He's nearly able to squeeze in when the door lets out a loud creak; and William winces in pain. "That's not good..." He mentions as he opens the door the whole way and bolts up the old staircase as fast as his legs will carry him. The steps creak and crack under his feet; but he pays them no attention as he nears the entrance to his apartment. He fumbles inside his pocket as he tries to find his keys; but finally manages to find them and unlocks the door with some difficulty. Slamming it shut; William pants lightly on the other side. "Man, am I glad Juan wasn't here..." he puffs out and walks over to the sofa, a little calmer. A tremendous weight lifts off of him as he lands upon the seat cushions, and sprawls out like a lizard on his belly. He says something; but it's muffled by the pillow in front of his face. He peeks out above the top of the pillow to look at out his window. It's not a pretty view; just some houses and a small grocery store; but he likes it; it gives him a sense of relaxation and serenity. He smells the semi-stale fabric of the pillow; and grins. "Yes, it's good to be home." he mutters, pulling the pillow next to his nose to breathe in deep the smell that he's come to recognize. But he decides that he must get some sleep; since in a matter of hours he needed to be at the airport ready to go. He stands for a moment to close the curtains; and as he draws them shut; the room becomes extremely dark; only a few small nightlights giving off a light glow so he can see the way to the bedroom. He doesn't even bother with the light switch; or even changing his clothes; the only thing he does is set the alarm for 4:30; much earlier than he ever gets up. But the events of the day have worn him out so much that he plops onto the mattress and falls quietly into golden slumbers, not even considering anything else...

RRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG! The familiar ring of his alarm clock breaks his sleep and he slowly rises. He whacks the alarm, and it falls to the ground; but doesn't shut off. He scratches his head and notices that his hair is a mess. Painfully, he tries to stand but can't. "I gotta get up; but I'm so damn tired..." he states as he picks up the alarm clock from off of the ground. He looks at it with squinted eyes, and stares at it in disbelief. "It can't be 4:30 yet..." William stares at the red LCD numbers that don't lie; and he sadly accepts that it really is 4:36. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, and tries to rise again; but lies back on the bed. "Just a few more minutes should help..." William begins as he closes his eyes. But no sooner than he closes his eyes does he suddenly jolt out of bed. "The flight! I've got to get up now!" He shouts and quickly opens the blinds in front of his room. Sunlight pours into the room, and he shields his eyes from the bright light. "This...should help me stay...awake." he states as his eyes begin to adjust to the light, and he blinks a few times. Grabbing his comb from off of the dresser, William proceeds to quickly comb his hair and cracks his knuckles. Placing the comb down, he strolls over to the closet and opens the door. Inside; he pulls out a few pairs of pants and shirts; all of them looking exactly the same as the suit he has on now. He also removes an old suitcase; and carefully places the clothes in the case. He looks at his watch, and starts to pack a little faster. He rushes over to the dresser and grabs a few pairs of underwear and places them in the suitcase, along with some socks. Then he stands in the center of the room, trying to determine if he left anything behind.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the device. He holds the device in his hand, and exhales. "You're going in here." William states as he tosses the device into the suitcase. He walks out of the bedroom and grabs the device's box from the desk in the living room. He tosses into the suitcase with the device; and rushes into the bathroom to grab a few items. He unzips a side pocket of the suitcase, and places the bathroom items inside. As he closes it; he decides that he has everything, and proceeds to zip up the suitcase; pulling tightly as he struggles to close the last few inches of the zipper. But he succeeds, and places his hands upon his hips triumphantly. "I'm ready!" he declares, and looks at his watch. He shifts it on his wrist, realizing that it left a mark from sleeping on it last night. But the time is right; 5:00, and William steps into the bathroom to freshen up a bit before he leaves. As he stands in front of the sink, he looks at the picture above the toilet from the corner of his eye. "I will find out what happened, Mike. No matter what it takes..." He finishes washing his hands and dries them in a nearby towel. Smiling, he looks at his teeth in the mirror and decides that he doesn't need to brush them this morning; giving in a little to procrastination.

At last, he finally feels ready to go. He heads back into his bedroom one final time to grab the suitcase, and double checks to make sure that everything is in order. Once he decides that all is well, he opens the door and exits; locking the door behind him.

He makes his way down the stairs; noticing that they are a little squeakier than normal after his mad dash last night; and makes it to the bottom of the stairs when he sees the door to his landlord's office start to creak open. "Not this time!" he mutters and races across the foyer; suitcase in arms; and grabs the handle of the door. He quickly rushes out and slams it shut behind him. Inside, he hears a soft young girl's voice say something, but he can't make it out. But at the moment; he really doesn't care to; his only concern is getting to the airport on time. He finally makes the short sprint to his car, and pops the trunk with his remote. Hastily placing the somewhat heavy suitcase inside; he slams it shut and proceeds to open the driver's door just when the apartment door opens. He looks up, and sees a young girl in her 20's standing in the doorway. William stops mid-way into the car, and leans on the top of the car with his elbows. "Where are you going so early Bill?" she asks, still in her nightgown and with her short red hair tied up in a ponytail behind her head. William stares at her without words, but finally manages to say something, "I really have to go Ashley; I can't talk now." "You're always on the go; never in the same place for more than a few hours..." she comments. "I know; but there's something really important I have to do, and..." William begins, but she quickly interrupts him. "How long do you think my father will wait? How long do you think I'll wait!" Her words stink of truth, but William's reaction is meager. "Please Ashley; can't this wait?" William pleads as he tries to get in the car; but her words hold him back. "No Bill this can't! I've been waiting for you to say those few simple words for so long; but you just can't..." Her expression grows sad, "...or you just won't." He is hurt a little by her sadness, but he couldn't concentrate on her at the moment. "I'm sorry but I really got to go. You wouldn't understand. I'll talk to you when I get back." William hops inside the car before she can mutter another word to stop him. "And when will that be!" she demands a response; but only gets the sound of William's engines starting up. "Sorry Ashley; but Paradigm awaits..." William states to himself as he puts the car in drive. As he drives off, he can see her walk into the street behind him and watch him as he drives away. Her face is pretty expressionless, but William knows what she's thinking; and doesn't want to think about it.

He looks at his watch, and decides that he's wasted enough time between getting ready and Ashley, so he activates his warp engine with the simple press of a button on his dash; and like a bullet William's car becomes nothing more than a blur to people walking on the sidewalks as he zooms past them. In no time flat; he's at the airport; and stops the vehicle's high speed jump. Eyeing the parking lot cautiously; he finds an open spot; and parks his car snuggly between two larger trucks. He slowly gets out and walks to the rear trunk, popping it open with his remote. There, he pulls out the suitcase and extends the handle. He closes the trunk and locks the car with its usual shields.

He turns and looks in awe at Brasilli International. William hardly ever flew due to his fear of unrestrained heights, but at the same time enjoyed a challenge. Still, he had not been there in nearly 10 years, and much had changed in that short time. It has nearly doubled in size; and the main terminal is over 60 stories tall with giant window panes that stare out at incoming travelers. The runways are on either side, and he watched as planes took off and landed almost one-per-second. There is so much air traffic that William can barely hear himself think and the ground shakes lightly below his feet. He casually strolls towards the terminal, luggage in tow. It bounces along the ground as William makes it closer and closer to the entrance of the Airport; and the airport seems to grow in size as he tries to watch the top of the building as it starts to leave his view. Alas, he makes it to the entrance, and swipes his I.D. at the entrance; the doors opening to allow him inside. A gust of air greets him as he walks into the open expanse of the main terminal of Brasilli International. High above him the ceiling lies; far from his head unlike at home. He peers down the cavernous hall; and sees more people in one place than he's ever seen in his entire life. People from every race, every niche of society, everybody and anybody seem to be in the one place all at the same time. William pushes on, and begins to make his way through the crowd with his suitcase on wheels behind him. People bump and shove their way through; giving him evil glares as they go about their way. William returns the favor, not in the mood to put up with anyone's attitude.

Finally, he makes his way through the crowd, and enters an open area near the main entrance. He looks around at the high level of security; and watches as people enter a booth where rotating scanners pass around their body; searching for anything they deem dangerous. William's face hides his regret; but he decides that he must go; no matter how many regrets he may have.

"Hello sir...Will you be flying today?" A nice young lady states as she greets William as he walks up to the counter. "Yeah..." William begins as he looks around at the name of the airline. "...Axalon Airways. I'm flying with you." William confirms. The lady smiles, and turns to a small computer. "Do you have your ticket or reservations?" she asks. "Reservations, I was supposed to pick up my ticket here." William states, reaching into his pocket. "May I see your I.D.?" she asks. William holds it up triumphantly, "Way ahead of you." She takes it from William and scans it in front of the computer screen. "Hmm..." she mutters, "...you're not listed on any flights today. Your flight was today, right sir?" she asks. "WHAT?" William shouts, but quickly draws looks from other people waiting behind him in line, "How is this possible? I booked it last night; it was a 7:30 flight to Paradigm City..." "Oh, that's why sir. You must have the wrong airlines." She giggles a little, "We haven't flown out there for over 50 years." "Yes, so I gather..." William states as he remembers the phone conversation yesterday, "...but I'm sure I called you." William retorted. "Do you remember who you spoke with?" she asks. William thinks for a moment, and then exhales in sadness, "No." "Then I'm sorry sir; I can't help you..." she suddenly smiles, "Have a nice day!" William grabs his I.D. from her and walks away; his whole day, and vacation for that matter, ruined.

He begins to walk back towards the exit when he senses someone behind him. Quickly turning around, William finds a tall skinny man standing behind him. "Uh, can I help you?" William asks the man in confusion. "No, it is I who can help you, William." The man states, his eyes hidden by a wide brimmed hat. "How do you know my name!" William demands, only to get a laugh for a response. "It's alright William; you may not know me, but Paradigm's been expecting you for quite some time..." the man grins, his red lips glaring at William. "What's going on here? Is this some kind of joke?" William asks boldly; but the white-faced man merely smiles and places his hand on William's shoulder. It is cold, almost inhuman. "My dear, dear William. So many questions...but rest assured the answer to all lies in Paradigm." The man states. "That line! I know it..." William mutters out loud as he recalls his dreams. "What is it William? You seem surprised by something..." The man tries to get William to reveal his secret; but William holds back. "No, I don't even know who you are..." William states as he looks up at the slightly taller man. "My name...?" The man says, "My name is not important, yet. But know that your flight; #515C from gate 6E to the outskirts of Paradigm City; is actually going into Paradigm, and is awaiting you..." The man tells him as they towards the door. "How do you know this?" William asks. The man grins at him, his eyes invisible beneath the cloak of his black and white hat. He adjusts his black with white pinstripe suit, and smiles at William as they walk out the door, "Because I'm the pilot."

Author's notes!

Who is this mysterious man? What other surprises does he have in store for William? Find out in the next exhilarating chapter, "The pilot"!


	5. Chapter 5: The pilot

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 5, "The pilot":

(Author's notes on bottom)

"So, if you're the pilot; where is your badge?" William asks the man; but he merely turns his head and peers down at him with his eyes still hidden under the brim of his hat. "When one is as experienced as I am, one doesn't need a badge." He coolly explains, walking along with William; his cold hand upon his shoulder as they strolled side by side.

"I'm not an idiot, and I know how these things work…tell me who you really are." William demands, moving to release the man's hand from his shoulder. A cold menacing glance is all the response William gets, and he backs down in fear.

A long moment of silence passes as they stroll down an empty unfinished corridor towards a boarded off portion of the airport; currently under maintenance. "My dear William; I realize that you are confused and unaccustomed to such awkward treatment; but rest assured that I will not harm you…" The man's voice trails off as if hiding something, and William takes note of this.

As they walk along towards an airplane gate; William notices something shining on the man's belt, and upon closer inspection notices that it is a gold colored gun; with a long slender barrel and smooth grip. In fear, William steps away from the man a little, but still maintains pace. "Is something the matter William?" the man asks in his clown-like voice; and William barely squeaks out a 'no'. The man is smarter than he leads on, and William knows this; but he can't take any chances and so he must hide his fear as much as possible.

Finally, they make it to the gate; and a small white jet is connected to the entrance ramp. William stares at in question, but says nothing as the man walks over to the door and opens it. At this moment, William gets a good look at his hand, and notices that it's made of metal; almost thin and smooth enough to be used as a blade. "Well…" the man smirks as he holds the door open with his hand in an offering position. William quickly peers up; and sees a wide grin across the man's white face, and his red shiny lips glistening in the low lighting of the half-installed lighting system of the unfinished corridor. His throat is dry, but his hands are clammy and William looks up at the man, "Oh, yeah…Let's go."

Down the whole length of the ramp William can feel the man's stare penetrate his body; but something paralyzes William and prevents him from turning around to verify his gut instincts. His hands stick and slide randomly as William grips the handrails, digging his fingernails into the hard wood in sheer terror. Just the thought of his gun and the man's hidden face terrorizes William; but he knows that he must remain strong; and not give in to the man's scare tactics.

Oddly, in the back of William's mind, he recalls all the times he had to deal with similar situations; where someone would try to cut him down and make him weak; but William is a professional negotiator, and never once gave into such ploys; even if he the situation seemed hopeless and lost. For some reason, in the city of Brasilli; it seemed that people hated him and Grace more than any other group; even the police. While on the outside Brasilli seemed to be peaceful and perfect; being there one day would show you the truth; and how the lower class citizens resented everything that the government stood for…

"Have a seat William!" The man pulls William out of his trance and he shakes his head in wonder. "Huh…?" William asks as he takes a quick look at his surroundings; and notices that he's inside the plane. There appears to be no one inside the plane; but the back of the plane is dark and he can't tell if anyone is there or not. William sighs and proceeds to take a seat near the front of the plane; and the man smiles as he closes the door. He walks over to William and places his cold metal hand upon William's shoulder, and looks William in the face. William nearly jumps out of his seat as the man touches him, and the man grins. Even with the man this close; William can not see his eyes or anything under the hat. This only drives the fear deep inside William to the surface, and the man grabs William's hand and frees it from its tight grip on the armrest of the chair. "You must relax William; you'll only hurt yourself…" The man smiles and his breath is strangely odorless, drawing William to refocus his attention and regain his composure. "Strap yourself in; we're leaving now." The man's voice trails off as he strides into the cockpit with his long slender legs carrying him effortlessly up the aisle and he straps himself in as he sits down.

The man quickly checks a few controls, and pulls a lever. As he does, the plane begins to reverse down the runway; and William watches out of the window as the airport begins to grow distant from him. Night has fallen, and in the darkness he swears that he sees a man on the runway; but he disappears no sooner than William sees him; leaving him only to wonder if he was really there or not.

"Oh, and by the way William in case you were wondering, I've already loaded your suitcase onto the plane…" The pilot tells William as he turns the plane towards the runway exit. Suddenly aware, William darts his eyes left and right to look for his suitcase which he recalled taking with him, but realizes that it's gone. A cold shiver runs down William's spine as he realizes that he did have the suitcase; but he doesn't remember when he last had it. His lower lip trembles in fear, and William pulls it under his upper lip to hide his true feelings.

The plane begins to take off, and the G-Forces push William back into his seat; and he remembers at that very moment just how long it had been since he took a ride in a plane. He tries to breathe, but between the events of the past few minutes coupled with his fear of heights make his nauseous, and he holds back his barf. The pilot doesn't even notice this; but instead focuses all his attention towards taking off, and as soon as they are airborne, the pilot smiles and stretches his arms for a moment before grabbing the controls again.

He throws a couple more switches, and presses a few buttons, and pretty soon the ride is stabilized. William looks out his window and stares in awe at a sight he has never seen before. It is the city of Brasilli; but it is glowing with the many beautiful street lamps and headlights of cars rushing through the maze of buildings. They are not extremely high; and William can tell that they still weren't above the tallest of the skyscrapers of Brasilli; but soon they are into the sea of clouds, and the peaceful lights of the city go down; and the view turns into a dull shade of grey.

"You're pretty quiet William; what's on your mind?" The pilot asks him, not turning away from the windshield as he majestically pilots them through the clouds. William turns away from the window and directs his gaze towards his host. "I'm not really sure what to make of all this…" William explains with a new sense of himself. The man shakes his head lightly, "Ah, so I see…" he begins as he holds his hand in the air, "…What doesn't make sense to you?" "Besides everything?" William remarks sarcastically; but it doesn't faze the pilot as he moves not even a muscle. "Well, for starters, why has no one been to Paradigm City in nearly 50 years?" William asks. This draws the pilot's attention and he turns around in the swivel chair to face William for a brief moment, "I was waiting for you to ask that…" he smirks with happiness and turns back to the controls.

"Well, let me start from the beginning. At first, our city was like any other; just like your home Brasilli or any other city like Electric City. But the government in my city was not happy with the citizens anymore; and felt that something needed to be done. And so began 'Project: Tomato Garden'." The pilot's smile grew as he spoke. "You see, the mayor of fair city was not at all pleased with the citizens, and decided that something had to be done. He conferenced with other council members, and it was he that came up with the master plan." The pilot explained. William listened intently, catching each word as it floated to him with undivided attention.

"His name was Alex Rosewater. He had been mayor for quite some time; and had many friends and a lot of authority in the city. But this plan was so controversial, and even though Alex himself was willing to be a part of the plan and play along 100; the members of the city council were still skeptical and they vetoed it. But Alex would not be deterred; instead he knew that he had to get his plan under way at once; and consulted with his father, Gordon. Now you see, Gordon and Alex didn't always see eye to eye on everything, but since Gordon was one of the highest members of the country's cabinet; he could pull certain strings that Alex couldn't." The pilot explains. "Hey, I remember Gordon Rosewater. They said that he died…" William begins as he recalls something that troubles him, "…nearly 50 years ago." The pilot smirks and nods his head silently, "Ah, so you're beginning to understand dear William…" The plane hits a little turbulence and bounces slightly up and down before it stabilizes and cruises along again smoothly.

"Well, Gordon met with the leaders of the country and they finally agreed to let him and his son carry out their master plan; but it had to be kept secret for an outsider could contaminate the project. So, with the board's approval, the city's name was changed from Metropolis to Paradigm City as a joke since Paradigm means a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and/or practices that constitute a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them. It fit Metropolis perfectly and thus began 'Project: Tomato Garden'."

"Didn't the people have a say in this? What were they doing this whole time?" William asks him. "The people were pawns in Alex's master game of chess. He played them with such professionalism and expertise that not even the local police knew what was going on. Alex has the head of the project and controlled everything; from the people to the government to the religion to the military police; you name it; Alex controlled it. He even controlled what pets were allowed in Paradigm, and since Alex was allergic to dogs he made sure that none were left; of course he may have missed a few but the Megadeuses remedied that problem…"

"MEGADEUSES!" William announced in disbelief, "Those have been outlawed in Brasilli for nearly…50 years." William again realizes as the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place. "Isn't it amazing how well his plan worked? Is it any wonder I went along with it?" The pilot asks William rhetorically. William nods a little and continues to listen to the pilot speak. "Well, after that, came the hardest part of the project, which was to eliminate the memories of the citizens of Paradigm…which proved to be relatively easy. All we had to do was show them the exit out of Paradigm; which was in reality an entrance into a specially designed chamber inside Paradigm Headquarters, and in there; Alex's master plan came to life as the memories of the citizens were erased and each emerged with only the most basic of memories…enough to start anew; and in the way that Alex Rosewater wanted. Only one man managed to escape us; later he tried to become a hero and free the citizens of Paradigm from their memory loss…he went under the moniker of Schwarzwald; we had a hard time tracking him down, but we eventually did and dumped his body into the water…" The pilot again smiles and turns the plane to the right and into a slight assent.

As the pilot casually turns the plane to the right the plane coasts along the smooth air. "Now keep in mind that although Alex was a businessman, his first duty was to himself. His first objective after eliminating the memories of the citizens was to eliminate his enemies; one at a time. He assigned each of them barcodes, making a list; and so he targeted them. They were the members of the council who opposed him, and first off was Ellen Weight; code number 9 701330 551490. Then came Mathew Brown; code number 9 701330 510637. Then Larry Flannis; code number 9 701330 520717; and lastly Nancy Bolton; code number 9 701330 101541. They were each brutally murdered in cold blood. Some believe that Gordon implanted memories into these guys, and that they were children instead of full grown adults, but Alex did such a beautiful job with the memories that everyone was confused about what was real and what was false…" The pilot smirks at his own words, and laughs cruelly to himself. "I was the only member he didn't kill. Well, he thought out killing R.D.; but decided against it after careful consideration." He laughs lightly to himself as he continues piloting the plane, "But that was only the beginning. With help from Electric City and Ilesberry, they constructed a giant stage around the city; and closed off Paradigm from the rest of the country. They added onto Paradigm, and created new areas to make the memories seem that much more misleading. They added domes, and changed the names of the streets. They even disintegrated the local bank, and the former owner of the bank Beck became a criminal in his new mindset…"

"Then it was onto the androids. We gathered them all up and erased all of their memories as well, but it seemed as though one of our own council members, who was an android named Rosco, told his creator of the impending plans of Alex, and his creator hid himself and his robots. He changed his last name to Seldano, but his real name was Dr. Wayneright…" The pilot's expression grows sad as he recalls something. "What is it?" William asks him. "I was remembering one of his robots in particular. Her name was R. Dorothy. She was a pretty little girl; but she was a trouble maker as well." He sighs and laughs a little.

"Sure, there were others who opposed us, like the Union of Workers who simply became known as the Union, but they weren't a much of a pest as little Dorothy Wayneright was. Between her and Roger Smith; they ruined our plans! If only they hadn't met!" The pilot smashes his fist into the controls, and hangs his head in regret. "How?" William asks. The pilot shakes his head, "If you must know, Roger Smith was the negotiator of Metropolis, and later became the negotiator of Paradigm City. He had a contract with Gordon; and Gordon was unsure whether or not to eliminate Roger's memories; but eventually decided to…and that hesitation was a mistake since Roger knew more than he should have known; and him finding that damn android didn't help! Between Roger's curiosity and Dorothy's memories, they ruined our master plan! It was them that destroyed my Megadeus when my Megadeus Big Duo and I attacked him!" The pilot announces as he smiles as he puts the plane into auto-pilot, "I linked myself up with Big Duo and had my memories transferred to him. I was so close to defeating Roger Smith! I was so close to killing Roger Smith inside that Megadeus of his, but that blasted Schwarzwald tampered with my Megadeus! I don't how he did it; but he managed to make it so that my Megadeus shorted out and nearly killed me, he tried to make me believe that a Megadeus chooses its dominus! HA! That fool! He didn't kill me! I survived! Those cables did nothing more than create the illusion of my demise; allowing me to escape and come back to my hometown of Brasilli…" The pilot rises from his chair, and waves his arms about in the arm triumphantly. "But then I heard of a certain Professor Rezno, and the people who gave me my android parts at the ACE Corporation nearly 50 years ago, saving and extending my life at the same time, told me that he had created a device that could transfer an android's memories into a version of itself in the past…" he reaches into his pocket and pulls out William's device. William's mouth drops in shock and the sheer terror consumes his soul as he freezes in fear to the chair. The pilot removes his gun from its holster and points it at William's head, "But thanks to you getting the device from him, William Prime; I, Alan Gabriel, now have the means to destroy Roger Smith once and for all!"

Author's Notes:

Alan Gabriel survived! How does he plan on using William's device to kill Roger Smith? Will William be able to escape from Alan? Find out in the next exhilarating chapter of Iron Fist Wedding!


	6. Chapter 6: The arrival

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 6, "The arrival":

(Author's notes on bottom)

Alan laughs insanely as he holds the device in one hand and his golden gun in the other, "So William Prime, where would you like to be shot? Perhaps in the head? The heart?"

Sweat trickles down the back of William's neck as he remains frozen in place, the fear of moving clearly displayed in his eyes. "Please Mr. Gabriel, just use the device and leave me alone…I don't to die!" William squeaks out. "Ah yes, that's what I like to hear!" Alan laughs happily, "Please by all means beg for mercy…it will make your death so much more enjoyable!"

He takes a couple of steps closer towards William and places the tip of the barrel against William's forehead, "You never answered my question however; where do you want to be shot? If you don't decide…" he cocks the pistol, "Then I will decide for you." William looks up at the partially hidden face of Alan and gulps hard, "Please…just use the device and let me go." Alan laughs a little and retracts the pistol from William's head.

He twirls the pistol in his hand and catches it in the correct position. Suddenly he sneers and shoots William in the shoulder. "AAAAHHHHH!" William cries out in pain as he grabs his shoulder as a reaction, the blood pouring out onto his suit and staining the white inner shirt. "Come on William, this isn't very Negotiator-like of you…you're supposed to do something clever and cunning, and take me down somehow. Surely giving in and letting me win goes against everything that a negotiator is supposed to do, am I right?" he asks as he raises the gun and aims it at William's head again.

William is bent over in the chair holding his shoulder in tremendous pain, staring down at the floor. "Look at me when I talk to you!" Alan shouts as he cocks the pistol again. William slowly raises his head and looks up at Alan, "I have nothing to say to you…just use the device and stop shooting me!" William mutters.

Alan suddenly throws his arms into the air and waves the device and the gun around, "I don't get it! I'm pushing all your buttons, but you're still not acting like a negotiator! What's wrong with you!" Alan asks as he re-aims the gun at William's head. "You're the crazy one here; why don't you ask yourself that question…" William begins as he grinds his teeth in pain. Blood oozes out between his fingers and covers over each finger like a fine deep, dark and rich red paint. He can feel the vessels under his skin pump blood through his body, and each pump brings excoriating pain that makes William weaker moment after agonizing moment.

"Come come now dear William, you're not going to let me win this easily, are you?" Alan asks. "If I must in order to save my own life…then I will." William admits as he leans over in the seat in extreme pain. "Ah, this is no fun! You're supposed to defy me; fight me to the bitter end; you know, so I can enjoy your death that much more…" Alan laughs insanely. "You are sick, sick man! I can see now why this Roger Smith guy didn't like you!" William retorts angrily. Alan laughs a little at this comment, "Oh my dear William there is so much more to it than that…" he sits in the co-pilot's chair; but keeps the gun trained on William's head the whole time. "Like what?" William asks.

All of a sudden Alan's mouth frowns, "Oh…I see what you're doing now dear William…you're trying to stall me…" He sets the device down and puts the gun in his other hand. Rising from his seat, he then walks over to William; William looking up at him slowly with disgust. With the swiftest of motions, he backhands William across the face with his metal hand and sneers at him. "Do not take me for a fool! I have been a most gracious host; and I have spared your life thus far…but tempt me again; and your death will not only be painful, but it will be slow!" he shouts with contempt as he places the gun back in his metal hand and returns to his seat.

William's face is bruised and battered from the blow, and four tiny slash marks across his cheek trickle blood down his face and neck. Tears begin to well up in his eyes, but he manages to hold them back.

"Face it my dear William, you're not going to win! It's impossible! I have the device; I have the gun, and I have complete control over the situation! There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me!" Alan states with a keen smile. "This may be true Alan, but I don't want to die… please just use the device and let me go!" William begs.

"Well well well…I thought I had you pegged dear William…" Alan begins as he rests his gun arm upon the armrest of the co-pilot's chair, "…it appears you are trying some kind of reverse psychology on me!" he admits. "Damn!" William mutters in a low voice. "Ah ha! I knew it!" Alan shouts as he points at William with his free hand. He rises from the chair again and strolls around the front cabin near William, "You can't fool me that easily; I'm smarter than you think." He smiles a little.

"So, you think by telling me to use the device I'm not going to use it; fearing that's what you want me to do, right?" he asks William. William barely gives him a glance, "Why should I tell you anything; you seem to have it all figured out already?" "Do not try my patience dear William! I may be enjoying our little chat; but once I've run out things to talk to you about; it's bye-bye time!" Alan adds with a smirk.

"I'm not as stupid as I pretend to be…" Alan states. William smiles a little, "Do want a second opinion?" "Do you want another bullet in your body?" Alan quickly adds. William's smile fades, and he sinks back into the chair. He looks out the window and sighs lightly, the pain subsiding a little, but not much. Outside, the moon hovers over the sea of clouds and casts a soft grey reflection across the tops of the clouds, creating the illusion of a single giant cloud. William smiles gently and blinks slowly, enjoying a moment of peace without Alan talking.

"Don't fall asleep on me William…I want you to see my moment of triumph!" Alan's words cut through William like a knife and he hesitantly turns around to face him. "Your moment of triumph?" William asks sarcastically. "Yes, my moment of triumph. When I take this device that you were so kind enough to leave in your suitcase for me to find and use it to travel back in time and kill Roger Smith before he has the chance to use Big O to ruin our plans!" Alan explains.

"So you think you've got it all figured out, don't you Alan?" William asks him with a slight hint of conviction. Alan eyes him suspiciously, although his eyes remain hidden, "Whatever do you mean my dear William?" he asks with serious question. "Look at you, you've figured out how to prolong your life and yet you would throw it all away just to get revenge on an imperfect human…" William comments. Alan shakes his head lightly, "Ooh, you _are_ good William Prime…I like how you think." He picks up the device and holds it in front of his face, "You see William, even though I may have figured out how to prolong my own life; I still haven't figured out how to become truly immortal. I know that I will eventually die, and that even though the metal of my body will last forever, my flesh and bone will not." He lowers the device a little to look at William, "But you see my dear William with this device I can go back in time, and correct the mistakes I made in the past. I was able to transfer my memories into Big Duo, and thus when they found my body after the battle they assumed I was dead and left me there for the coroner to come and pick up, but I wasn't dead…no…I was merely waiting for the right moment to come back and rejoin my body. However, with this little device here I will be able to transfer my memories permanently into my younger body; and there I can show the doctors how to transfer my memories from this aging flesh and tissue brain that I have now and put it into a machine; thus I can use that new body to kill Roger Smith before he has a chance to ruin our plans!" he laughs a little, "Essentially I'm killing two birds; or rather humans, with one stone." He leans towards Roger but still is a fair distance away, "So you see my dear William; to answer your question; I _do_ have this all figured out!"

"You're still human then…" William asks him keenly. "Well, partially…" Alan begins as he moves the gun around in his hand so he can move his fingers freely, "…I am not entirely android _yet_…" he reaches up and grabs the brim of his hat, and begins to lift it up.

William stares in horror as Alan fully removes his hat and reveals nothing under his hat other than a twisted network of wires and metal rods connected to his flesh brain. Wires move up and down and pulsate with electricity as they connect to various places of Alan's brain. Robotic eyes are set back in his head so close to his brain that they actually touch it slightly. He then reaches up and grabs his face, and after jerking it a little, it pops off and reveals a series of complex mechanisms to create expression and lip movement behind the faceplate. His nose area is missing, instead only having two small inlets for air in its place.

"You look surprised my dear William…" he states, but now his voice sounds a little more mechanical, "…were you expecting something else?" William gapes in sheer horror at the sight before him; speechless. Alan sighs and replaces his faceplate and his hat. After a few reconnections, Alan's face returns to normal, and he glares at William with a crazed expression upon his lips, "So…do you want to witness my moment of triumph then?" William finally stops shuddering in fear and leans forward a little towards Alan, "If it will spare my life; then yes…" his eyes sink down and his head drops to his chest. "Go on and use the device." He mutters quietly in regret.

Alan smiles and picks up the device, and holds it up in front of him. He sets the gun down and pulls back his arm sleeve, revealing a connector port. Grabbing the cord of the device, he then takes the tip of the cord and plugs the connector into his arm. He turns on the device, and presses a few buttons. The screen lights up, and the words, "Begin transfer?" appear in bold white letters against a black background. Two white arrows point down on the screen towards two buttons near the top, one arrow says, "Yes", and the other says, "No". Alan smiles happily and looks up at William quickly, "Once again thank you my dear William…I shall make sure to kill you as well when I return to the past!" William looks up at little; a slight glitter in his eyes and he watches Alan raises his finger to press the "Yes" button. "And now, Roger Smith, with the simple press of this button; I unleash the sword of vengeance upon thee! Farewell!" Alan shouts as he plugs the connector into his arm port and begins the transfer.

Just then, he looks around in shock. "What!" He looks around in confusion, "I'm still here…" he turns around to the controls of the plane, "The thermostat is where it's supposed to be; but it's so hot in here!" he tugs at his collar a little bit to relieve the heat. William sits up straight in his chair and smiles, "I played you _so _well Alan; you don't even know it…" "WHAT!" Alan shouts as his skin begins to boil and tear off of his body, and his body begins to shake. "You are just as much of a fool as I had presumed Alan." William begins as he rises from his seat and walks towards Alan. "Get away from me! What have you done to me!" he cries out as he can hear his bones crack and shatter inside of him. "Obviously you didn't read the book that came with the device _entirely_. It clearly states that the device only works on androids, not partial androids." William begins, "It also says that if a human of cyborg/partial android should use this, several things will happen, starting with boiling of skin and flesh, then deterioration of skeleton followed by melting of entire body, resulting in DEATH!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Alan cries out as the pain grows inside of him like a raging inferno, and his blood starts oozing out of his pores and his body begins to collapse in on itself. He falls to the floor and his flesh begins to adhere to the floorboards; sizzling and simmering as it slowly eats away at the ground. "Who's the fool now, Alan?" William adds as he watches Alan slowly and painfully die, "There's much more to being a negotiator than simple negotiation."

As Alan lies dead on the floor in a pool of reddish-brown liquid; William looks up. "Shit! No one's piloting the ship!" He cries out as he jumps over the puddle of Alan and hops into the pilot's chair. "I have no idea how to fly this thing!" he yells as he watches the plane begin to nosedive and tries as hard as he can to pull the yoke up; but to no avail.

He begins to lift out of his seat as he pulls negative-Gs and the ground gets closer and closer in the windshield. William closes his eyes as he prepares to smash into the ground at a tremendous speed.

Just then, the plane suddenly jerks to a stop and William's head smashes into the windshield. He bounces around inside the cockpit and finally stops on the dashboard controls upside-down. The plane then begins to tip backward, and straighten out and level out. William falls back into the pilot's chair, and grabs his head in pain as he bleeds a little from a wound in his forehead.

"What in the hell just happened?" William asks as he suddenly hears a noise coming from outside of the plane. He carefully walks to the side door of the plane and slowly opens it, and steps back in shock at what he sees.

In front of him, he sees the head and torso of a giant robot. William gasps in awe at the sight before him. Suddenly, the front area of the robot's chest begins to open, and reveals a man in a suit just like his seated in the pilot's chair, and a young girl standing behind him. The man smiles at him, and the girl remains expressionless. "Looks like you needed a hand." The man states with a slight smile.

"You must be Roger Smith…" William begins, confused. The man in the cockpit is a little taken back by this, but remains seated at the controls, "Why yes I am. How did you know?" he asks. "Let's just say I know more about you now than I ever wanted to know…" William mutters as he reaches down to pick something up.

"How do you know about me?" Roger demands. William holds up the disconnected hand of Alan Gabriel, "Do you know what this is?" William asks sarcastically. R. Dorothy steps forward and points at the hand, "That is Alan Gabriel's hand. How did you get it?" she asks. Roger watches William and waits for his reply. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do…" William begins as he suddenly grabs his head in dizziness. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he collapses to the ground.

"We have to get this man to a hospital quickly! If what I think happened here actually did happen…" Roger begins, "…then his troubles have only just begun."

Author's notes:

William proves himself to be more cunning and wittier than Alan had presumed, but now he's got to tell Roger Smith what happened. What will Roger think? And what other surprises lie in store for William Prime?


	7. Chapter 7: The reality

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 7, "The reality":

(Author's notes on bottom)

Inside a dimly lit room William Prime lies upon a bed with a large white blanket covering him up to the chest. Scars and cuts with bandages wrapped around them litter his body and a prominent white bandage patch covers the bullet wound on his right shoulder.

"Are you alright Mr. Prime?" A hazy voice echoes in his ears as he slowly regains conscience. "Ohhhh…" William moans as he tries to rub his head but realizes that several tubes are hooked up to his arm, "What happened?" His eyes slowly begin to adjust to the low light and he looks off to his left to see someone sitting in a chair against the far wall near the entrance, but he can't make out the face.

"Where am I?" William grunts with pain as he tries to sit up in his bed, only to cry out in pain and sink back down. "Please lie still Mr. Prime…you've been through a terrible ordeal; and you need to recover your strength." The voice tells him, and he finally puts the voice together with the face of the person in the chair. "Who are you?" he asks. The figure slowly rises from the chair and walks over to the side of William's bed; coming into the low lighting just above William's bed. His vision is a little cloudy but he's able to distinguish that the figure is a young girl, "My name is R. Dorothy…Don't you remember?"

"Uh…" William moans as he blinks slowly, "…Not really. I'm so exhausted…I really don't remember anything." She nods with understanding and pulls the blanket up the rest of the way to William's neck, "You do need to rest and recover your strength…you should be better soon however." Her face remains emotionless, but he senses the sincerity in her voice and smiles lightly as he closes his eyes slowly and breathes a deep sigh of relief.

The soft pillow behind his head gently caresses his heavy head as he opens his eyes again and stares at the plain white ceiling above him. A small lamp on an extendable arm swing is just to the left of his field of vision, but the weight of his head holds him back from looking at it. He breathes deeply again, and once again the stale odor of the room and lovely smell of R. Dorothy gives him a strange sense of pleasure and peace; forcing a smile out of him.

The sudden sound of wheels gently racing down a track distracts him, and he turns to see R. Dorothy pulling a white vinyl curtain closed around him slowly. He moves his head with much pain as he looks around the bed at the ceiling to notice a track of curtains running around the entire bed. Just then he notices a second bed to his right, and he grunts with pain as he pushes himself up into a sitting position.

"Well hello there my boy…" the person in the other bed calls out with a little laugh. "Do I know you?" William asks as he tries to see the man in the other bed, but his eyes are still blurry. "I doubt it…" The man laughs, his voice aged and withered. "…But I do know a little about you." "Really?" William blinks slowly as he tries to clear his vision to no avail. "Yeah…I overheard the doctors talking; and they said that you lost a lot of blood. Frankly, they think that you're lucky to be alive!" The old man smiles but William doesn't notice. "Did they say how?" William asks groggily. "Not really, but I bet it has something to do with that wound on your shoulder there." The man states as he points to William's bullet wound. "Oh, this?" William comments as he points to the wound; almost yanking out his tubes. He winces in pain and lowers his arm down to his side, easing the pain. The old man laughs and sits up on his bed, uncovering himself from underneath the blanket.

A few minutes pass without any exchange of words and William starts to fall asleep when the old man begins to speak again, "So…who's your lady friend?" William blinks awake and shakes his head a little to wake up fully, "What do you mean?" "Oh don't be coy with me young lad…" The man giggles lightly, "…She's pretty cute. Is she your girlfriend?" William's face becomes blank as he decides what to say next. A brief moment passes that seems like an eternity, "No…" William finally admits, not finishing his statement.

"Well, what is she then? Your sister? Cousin? A family friend?" the man asks. "No…she's…" he begins but then looks at the man in question, "What business is it of yours?" The old man recoils a little in shock, but smiles soon afterward, "Oh come my boy, I was only asking. I'm not going to steal her from you or anything…" he laughs a little, "I'm an old man. My years have passed me by and there's no going back." He sits in his white hospital gown upon the edge of the side of the bed facing William, "Listen to me my boy…you've got a lot of good years ahead of you; don't waste them like I did."

"What do mean?" William asks him. The old man smiles at him, "I would tell you to enjoy the beauty and power of your youth; but you wouldn't understand. Most people don't realize what they had until it's gone…until it's too late. I spent my life working, living from paycheck to paycheck; paying my bills and living a plain, ordinary life. But now I look back and realize that I wasted all of those years; I could have easily made something out of myself, but I failed miserably." He looks away from William in sadness, "You see my boy, I could have went to college and made something out of my life; but instead I chose to just work at a normal minimum wage job. Sure, I rose in the ranks, made more money and lived a better life, but deep down inside my heart I was not happy." The man explained. "I spent my life alone. I never married; and only dated occasionally, but nothing ever came out of those dates. I spent my life alone…" he looks back at William in sadness, "..and that's something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy."

William quietly listens as the old man continues to speak, "And so you see, now I'm too old for anything; my youthful days gone like pages torn out of a book. I have memories, but memories can only go so far…they can't replace the feelings of love and acceptance given by a real person." A tear slowly drips down the face of the old man, rolling across his wrinkles like an old needle across a warped record, "I'm not trying to preach here, but I'd hate to see someone else go through the years of pain and sadness I had to endure. I have no children, no family, no wife…" he sighs deeply, "…no love." William begins to tear up as he listens to the old mans words, each one more powerful than the last. "My heart has grown cold and bitter over the years. People I once called friends I now call mere acquaintances; and the race I used to love called humans I now hate." He rises slowly from the bed and with each measured step makes his way around the bed. As he slowly pulls open the curtains; sunlight fills the room; causing William to shield his eyes. As his eyes begin to adjust, William once again looks at the old man; but this time the light from the window creates an aura around him, casting soft beams of light from behind him that glow as they hit the dust in the air.

"Perhaps the cruelest teacher of them all is time," the old man begins as he slowly makes his way back to the bed, "Time has robbed me of my youth, my agility, and my health. But worst of all, time has robbed me of the one thing I cherish most at this time; my happiness." he smiles at William and he merely stares in awe at the old man. Soft violin music plays in the background; music that William did not notice before but now has become prevalent. "My boy, listen to what I say. Enjoy this time you have here on this plain of existence. Time is precious, and we are not given much. Love your fellow man; love them as if they were the last being upon the face of the planet. Kindness is a rarity these days; and we as a species are too quick to deal out death like cards in a round of poker; except in this game the stakes are much higher than you could ever imagine. If you can help it; do not harm anyone; do not rob them of their time. Life is far too short for that."

"Many have wondered what is the meaning of life; why are we here and why do we exist. Honestly, I don't believe that anyone will ever know the answer to those questions; no matter how much faith they have or how hard they search. Some things just aren't meant to be known…" the old man lays back down on the bed and pulls the blanket over himself slowly like a veil. Tracks of tears stream down William's face; leaving distinct trails. "I believe that life is meant to be enjoyed; life is meant to be lived for the moment; as if each moment were precious; because each moment is precious. Every second I talk is a second I will never get back. One could spend their life watching each second pass; counting each as it passes them; never even looking back, but they will gain nothing from that. Remember that memories are what we make them; and sometimes memories are all that we have…" the old man smiles, "Take it from someone whose been there."

As he painfully slumps back down into the bed, William stares at the ceiling, contemplating what the old man had just said. Suddenly the door bursts open and a few moments later the curtains part on the old man's side. Three doctors disconnect his equipment and unlock the brakes on the wheels of his bed. "Where are you going?" William calls out as they start to move him. He looks at the doctors, and notices from their stiff movements that they are androids. "My time has finally come. I have incurable disease my boy." the old man explains as they start to move him, "I got it from a woman I once dated many years back. The doctors found it too late; and now my body is nearly dead." he points around at the doctors as they silently move him, "My body may be nearly dead, but my soul craves life. But no one sees this anymore; people only see others for what they look like on the outside; not for whom they truly are on the inside." The man passes behind the curtains but continues to speak as the doctors move him on his bed, "Remember my boy; it's never easy to save a life; but it's always too easy to end one. Play your cards right; and enjoy what time you have. And be happy, for sometimes happiness is the only thing that won't abandon you."

Light from the outside hallway fills the room as the door opens and the doctors take him the rest of the way out; and the door slam with a fierce thud, causing William to flinch. Just then the curtains near him part again and as William's eyes begin to clear up, he sees R. Dorothy standing near the bed. "How long have you been here?" William asks her. She gently places her hand upon his, "The whole time…" she gives a slight smile, and returns to her seat.

"Hmm…he's finally awake." a manly voice states. William looks in the direction of the voice and sees Roger Smith walk into the room. "Who are you?" William asks him. "Well, it appears that you don't have your memory back yet…but that's not surprising. You've been out for nearly a day…" Roger explains, "…do you realize just how close you came to dying?" William looks at him as he places a hand upon R. Dorothy's shoulder and sips from a cup of something hot in his other hand, "No…" he smiles as he looks over to the empty space where the old man's bed was, "..but at least I didn't die like he did."

"Who?" Roger asks as he walks over to William's side. "The old man who was over there…" William points, confused. Roger walks over to the area and examines it closely. He finds a clipboard on the floor and picks it up, "Hmm…you must be mistaken. There's been no one here for over 3 weeks." Roger looks over at William in confusion. William quickly turns to R. Dorothy, "You seen him, didn't you?" "No, Mr. Prime, I did not." she admits. "But…but…" William begins as he slumps back into the bed.

"You're just exhausted William; it's nothing to worry about. The doctors say that you should be better by tomorrow once they finish their tests and you've regained your strength." Roger states as he takes another sip of the drink, "So I think you'd better get some sleep. I'm very interested to hear about your adventure with Alan Gabriel…" William sighs deeply and closes his eyes, "Yes…I'll hopefully have my memory back by then." He begins to breathe in and out as he starts to fall asleep, "Well…maybe if I play my cards right," William thinks to himself, "Maybe one day I'll understand what that old man meant; because I have a strange feeling he was right."

Author's Notes:

Who was the old man? Was he a just a figment of William's imagination; or something more? And what will Roger Smith do now that the situation he thought was under control is not anymore? Keep watching…


	8. Chapter 8: The renewal

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 8, "The Renewal":

(Author's notes on bottom)

"People have often wondered why I chose to be a negotiator…" William Prime begins as he sits in a large leather chair inside Roger Smith's home. R. Dorothy walks into the room and places a cup of tea on the table next to William; and with a nod, he proceeds to pick up the cup and sip it lightly.

Steam casually floats off of the surface of the tea as William drinks; allowing the sensuous aroma to fill his senses. He carefully sets the glass down, his hand and body still bandaged up from his encounter with Alan Gabriel.

"…Honestly, I sometimes wonder myself. I mean, I love the thrill of solving mysteries, finding clues; but…I've never really seen myself doing anything else. In my eyes, I was born for this job." William states.

"So I see…" Roger comments, deep in thought. R. Dorothy reenters the room and takes a seat at the piano. Her soft and delicate caressing of the keys allows a gentle melody to fill the room as a fireplace flickers quietly in the corner.

Roger suddenly stands and proceeds to walk over to the window. "For many years I wasn't sure I was meant to be a negotiator…" he begins as he stares out the window. William looks up at him with intrigue, and joins him at the window.

"Do you see that?" Roger asks him as he points out the window. William looks out at the cityscape; at the buildings twinkling against the pitch-black sky. He observes the cars rushing through the streets; the people walking along and going about their daily routines. With the window open; he listens to the soothing sounds of traffic in the distance; and the sweet smell of the night fills his lungs.

"Do you mean the city?" William asks as he sighs with relaxation. "Not just that; but the people of the city." Roger explains, "I often wondered too why I was a negotiator, why I chose to help those less fortunate than myself; to pilot a Megadues. But in the end; it all came back to the city. For a long time; I didn't know what drove me; what made me tick. As a matter of fact; I wasn't really sure who Roger Smith really was. But there was always one thing I could count on, and that was the city. Paradigm City…I felt I owed this city something; I felt that I needed to help not only the residents here; but the city itself. I think that's the real reason I became a negotiator."

The wind blows lazily into the room; gently meandering its way through Roger's graying hair. William turns back to face the room and watches R. Dorothy still playing the piano softly.

"Perhaps it is destiny then…" William quietly states as he turns back to Roger. "What?" Roger asks calmly. "That I came here; that I met you and that I got that device." William replies.

Roger nods and closes the window slowly. As Roger draws the curtains shut, William makes his way back to the chair and sits down carefully in order to prevent further aggravating his wounds.

"Destiny…" Roger begins, "…I'm not really sure what that is. Sometimes I feel that I can not escape fate; but other times I feel as though the future is what I chose it to be. All I know is that we only get one shot at it; and if we mess things up; then that's it. You don't get second chances in life; and that goes double for our lines of work."

"I agree completely." William replies as he rubs his bandaged gunshot wound lightly. "By the way, are you feeling any better? Have your wounds healed up yet?" Roger asks.

"To a degree. The doctors say I'll be able to go home within the week." William replies.

Suddenly, a sad expression crosses William's face as he traces the rim of the tea cup with his finger. "What's the matter?" Roger asks, concerned.

William sighs deeply, "Well, as you know, it's been a month since I here; but…" the sadness grows in William's voice as he speaks, "…but I'm not really sure I want to go back to Brasilli. I think about it almost every night now before I sleep; I think about my job back there; my apartment, my friends and my coworkers…and then I look around me here; and for some reason; I feel a great sense of peace. I feel as though I've been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that if I pass it up I'll regret it for the rest of my days."

Roger holds his chin quietly as William continues. "To be straight forward with you; I'm just not sure what to do. I've talked to my boss Rafael over the phone, and he's been extremely understanding and kind; allowing me to keep my job with him and extend my vacation. Granted, the last 3 weeks have been without pay, but that's besides the point."

William laughs a little, but the sadness is still very evident in his voice, "…I'm rambling, I know; but I guess I've just never really been faced with this perplexing of a problem before. As a negotiator I'm supposed to be prepared for anything; be ready for any and all situations and be able to think and react quickly and accurately without hesitation. But this…this, this is really a situation I don't know what to do in."

"Well, this is your decision William," Roger begins, "I can not tell you what to do. You have to decide that for yourself."

"I know," William nods, "But I guess I just never really considered moving before. I've always lived in Brasilli; and I've only been out of the city a few times; mostly on business related matters. And out of all those times; not once have I felt the attraction to a city that I have here."

"The answer to all lies in Paradigm." Roger suddenly mutters. R. Dorothy suddenly strikes a sour note on the piano and stops playing.

"What did you say?" William asks, now sitting on the edge of his seat. "Do you think that's what it meant? Do you think the device was telling you to move here?" Roger asks, perplexed.

"But how can that be? The device only said that phrase to me in my dreams; not once did I see it reality. And besides that; how could that device have the cognitive ability to predict or affect the future?" William asks.

Roger rubs his chin a little and extends his hand out in a suggestive manner. "Well, your professor friend did tell you that it had the ability to transverse time; perhaps it can go forward _and_ backwards."

William raises an eyebrow in question but says nothing. "And Dorothy here is an android. She has the cognitive ability to understand, feel, think and comprehend…why can't that device?" Roger queries.

William reaches into his pocket and pulls out the infamous device. "You know, this device here has caused me nothing but trouble. At work, at home, on vacation…this thing has been a curse. Honestly, I'd hate to think that this thing had cognitive thoughts and could understand me or my surroundings."

William laughs nervously and Roger merely grimaces. "Fate…as far as I'm concerned, no one can really be sure what the future has in store for them. But I also believe that man is not meant to understand everything; and that some things are meant to remain mysteries. Perhaps this is one of those instances; perhaps you're just supposed to live your life day to day and not question it." Roger ponders.

"Who knows…" William sighs. He looks down at the device in his hand with a look of sheer confusion and wonder. "…I've got some serious thinking to do. I'm going for a walk. I'll be back shortly." William states as he rises from his seat.

Placing the device back in his pocket; he straightens out his suit and heads towards the door. He turns for a brief moment to look back at Roger, almost expecting him to say something. But Roger sits silently; as R. Dorothy stands beside him motionlessly. With a slight nod, William opens the door and proceeds to walk out of the room.

William walks out the front doors as a sudden gust of wind slams the doors closed behind him. "A bit chilly…but it'll be alright." William comments to himself as he buttons up his black suit and proceeds to walk down the street.

Bright signs from store fronts illuminate William's path as he walks; giving him pause. He looks at the stores lining the street and watches as customers go in and out at a slow and steady pace.

"These people have Roger Smith…do they really need me?" William asks himself as he walks along.

People from all walks of life pass him on the sidewalk as cars drive by both on the street and in the air. "If I did stay; I'd have to find a new line of work…I would never take Roger's job. He holds a special place in this city…I'm just a foreigner; a stranger in a strange land; so to speak. Times like this I wonder why I am here…"

Suddenly his mind goes back to the old man he met at the hospital about a month ago. "Many have wondered what is the meaning of life; why are we here and why do we exist. Honestly, I don't believe that anyone will ever know the answer to those questions; no matter how much faith they have or how hard they search. Some things just aren't meant to be known…" The words of the old man echo in William's mind as if he had just heard them only yesterday.

"What is it that compels me?" William asks himself as he takes a seat on a bench in a park. An older model android walks by him and lightly tips his hat; which is made of shiny gray metal like his body. William nods lightly in kindness; but nothing more.

"For that matter, what is it that compels us as a species? Humans have progressed so far over the years, and yet it seems that we haven't progressed that far. We still have desires, lusts, feelings, dreams, ambitions…but what fuels those feelings?" William asks himself.

William looks in the direction the android was walking in; but doesn't see him anymore. "An android…nothing more than a conglomerate of metal parts, wires, system networks and cables…and yet; it can be instilled with the same things that humans have and want…"

William's voice trails off as he loses himself in thought. With a loud sigh, William rubs the front of his head and sighs. "…Perhaps we just aren't meant to know…"

Author's Notes:

Well; it has been a while since I've updated this; but I had to re-watch the Big O anime and refresh myself on the personalities of the characters and stories from it. And since it had been so long; I'm posting 3 new chapters! I hope that someone still reads it... ;


	9. Chapter 9: The life

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 9, "The Life":

(Author's notes on bottom)

"I'm just not sure about it anymore…" William Prime sighs as he sits on a park bench in Paradigm City; the city that now questions all he knows and understands.

Time seems to pass slowly like molasses leaking from a split barrel as William tries to make a decision about the one thing he's not sure about himself.

William sighs a little; lowering his hands from his head and placing them on his lap. "Maybe…I will move…" He begins; grabbing the device out of his pocket, "…Perhaps you are right. I never thought that an inanimate object could ever hold power over a real person; but apparently; my destiny is to listen to you and accept it willingly."

The device sits quietly in William's hand; much to his disappointment. "Why did he have to give me you? Did he know something about me that I didn't even know?" William asks rhetorically as he thinks back to the professor and his final moments with William.

"It's a difficult decision; isn't it?" A voice asks; and William turns suddenly to see Roger standing behind him; his hand gently pressed against the back of the bench and supporting his body.

"…How long have you been listening to me?" William asks with a slightly depressed sigh. "Not long," Roger begins with a slightly confused face, "Why?"

"No real reason…" William responds, lowering his head a little, "…I'm a little reluctant to rely on others to make my decisions for me; that's all."

"Are you directing that towards me or the device?" Roger asks; taking a seat next to William. William looks over at him with surprise; but sighs moments later and looks down at the ground again. "It really wasn't directed at anyone; more or less it was directly at myself." William replies.

"You know; ever since I finally learned the truth about Paradigm City; I feel as though I've lost a bit of myself…" Roger states; changing the subject as he carefully pulls off his glasses and sets them in his pocket of his suit. "How so?" William asks; a little intrigued as he looks up slightly at Roger.

"Back when Paradigm was just an enigma to me and memories were necessary to learn and know; there was a real need for my services; both professionally and privately. There were lots of criminals and monsters and cases for me to handle; both as myself and with the help of Big O…" Roger explains; his voice starting to trail off a little. William continues to listen to him as Roger sighs a little and resumes speaking.

"I was so obsessed with learning the truth and understanding myself; that I lost track of what really mattered." Roger states, leaning back fully onto the bench and spreading open his arms along the back of it.

"What was that?" William asks him. "The here and now; the present." Roger replies; closing his eyes a little. The cold air of the night gently skims across Roger's face; blowing his slightly gray hair a little.

"What did happen?" William asks unexpectedly. Roger opens his eyes again; sitting up a little out of surprise. "What do you mean?" Roger asks him; a tone of confusion in his voice. "With everything…with you; R. Dorothy; Norman; the city; Big O…everything. What happened here?" William asks him with a note of intrigue.

"I thought you already knew…" Roger replies, "…After all; it was you who knew about me before we had even met." William nods gently, but resumes the intrigued look a moment later. "Yes; but I never knew your personal story…what happened over the years since Alan told me about what happened so long ago in the past."

"Now you're making me sound old…" Roger laughs a little; causing William to flinch a little; but he quickly recovers and laughs a little as well. "But you're right; it was a long time ago…I am getting older; whether I like it or not," Roger replies, "And time's the true test here…I've come to know that. Let me see if I can explain what happened."

Roger sits up fully in the chair; clasping his hands together as he begins to speak. "It was the same thing over and over again; as I came to find out. Those memories we lost all those years ago…the whole thing was fake; a clever stage made by people who wanted to see how people would cope without knowing who they were and without knowing the truth about everything. And it ended up that I was stuck in an infinite loop; along with everyone else. Who knows how many times I had played the same part on the stage of life; but I played it the same every single time. I couldn't see beyond what my eyes wanted me to see; and I was never able to break free because of it." Roger explains; letting each float into the cold night air; being received intently by William.

"Then finally; one day; it happened. The final scene came about again…me and R. Dorothy inside Big O; watching as the entire world was being destroyed by Big Venus. I took the script that had been presented to me so many times and read it clearly and loudly; that script of life that I had never seen and yet knew line for line so well. I watched as Big Venus walked closer and closer to me; disintegrating everything in it's path. I tried to reason with it…with her…" He states somberly. "Her?" William asks, a little puzzled by Roger's self-correction.

"Yes…her. Her name was Angel…or so she said. Her real name was never known; but she was a woman…one like I had never met before. I was intrigued by her; and I found myself falling in love with her," Roger states as he reaches into his pocket again and grabs his shades; covering up his eyes again, "But it was never meant to be; because she was the true test for me. I didn't realize it right away; but the truth was that she was only an instrument designed by the creators of the Paradigm City I know and used to keep everything in a continuous cycle. They knew that no human or android could be trusted to do the job; so they had to create something that would be part of the system; something that would remain a constant, no matter what the other variables of the experiment may change."

"And she was…" William begins, leaning in a little closer to Roger. "She was Big Venus; yes. She changed into Big Venus every time the experiment reached the end; every time I came too close to figuring it all out. It was very clever; an instrument within a living city; treating it like a program; and resetting the city every single time. I don't understand how it worked; but somehow it did…just like the Megadues and everything else in the city. But the truth of the matter is that despite her being what she was; I loved her…and that was what I had to learn." Roger explains.

"What you had to learn?" William asks, now confused. "I had to learn what love was, William Prime. I was always such a louse; everyone said so and I knew it. I never appreciated women or love; and I never understood it's true meaning. I always assumed it was something simple; something to be just given out and received like money; and that emotions were a hassle when it came to understanding love. But I was wrong…and one day I finally realized it…that day I finally came face to face again with Big Venus. I watched as she walked towards me; and I spoke my lines; but something happened…something I can't explain. It was almost as if the script of life had been rewritten suddenly while I was reading it; and I had an epiphany." Roger explains; expressing his feelings with his hands and face as he speaks.

"What was that?" William asks. "I realized suddenly that love had been there the whole time; waiting for me…and I never saw it. It was so painfully evident; clear as day; and yet I never saw it. She had told me many times that she loved me; she was always there for me and always by my side in everything I did; and I completely ignored her…" Roger explains as tears start to trickle down his face slowly.

"Angel?" William asks. "No, R. Dorothy Wayneright." Roger replies, much to William's surprise.

"R. Dorothy?" William asks; his jaw hung open a bit. "Yes…you see; I never wanted to love her because she wasn't human. I was so caught up with physical love that I never accepted the truth of love; that it's an emotion; felt when two people have a connection together that goes beyond the physical realm. And on that day; when I facing Big Venus yet again; I froze in mid-sentence suddenly; unable to move. I watched as Big Venus walked towards me; getting closer with each step; and I remember exactly what happened next; just as if it happened yesterday…" Roger explains; remembering the scene in his mind.

"Roger?" R. Dorothy asks him out of her usual level of concern; looking at him from back of Big O's cockpit. "…Is that what you've been trying to tell me all along?" Roger suddenly asks; finally able to speak again. Big Venus continues to walk towards him; and he closes his eyes gently and turns around.

"I don't know who I am; or what my purpose is; but something just occurred to me…" Roger explains; opening his eyes again and looking at R. Dorothy. "…Maybe I'm not supposed to understand. Maybe memories are what we make it; and nothing more. Maybe there is no such thing as reality; maybe nothing is real after all…" Roger reasons to himself as he walks towards R. Dorothy.

"What are you saying, Roger?" She asks him; watching him walk towards her. "I'm saying something I should have said before; something I should have said a long time ago," Roger begins, "I'm saying that I'm not blind anymore. I'm saying that I now understand why you and Angel came into my life…she came in to teach me about you."

Suddenly, Big Venus stops in it's tracks; mere feet from Big O. "Roger…it stopped." R. Dorothy states; pointing towards Big Venus. "Yes, and I know why now…" Roger states, "…because I've finally learned what I always needed to know; something I've been so painfully aware of but never able to accept."

"Say it, Roger Smith, Negotiator of Paradigm City…" Big Venus states; it's voice the same as Angel's. "What's going on?" R. Dorothy asks him, unable to understand why Big Venus just spoke.

"Why do you think it was that you were created an android?" Roger asks her. "I was created by my father in the image of his daughter." R. Dorothy replies. "No..." Roger begins with a smile, "…You were created because I needed you to be one. I needed someone who would never age; someone who would be there with me and remain the same; so I could remember and understand, and so I could try again with the same setup until I finally made the right choice."

"And what choice is that, Roger Smith?" R. Dorothy asks him. "The choice that Angel…no, Big Venus was trying to tell me without ever truly being able to say the words…" Roger explains as he gently grabs R. Dorothy's arms, "…She was telling me that I had to make a choice; that I had to figure out what love was and to figure out that something that does not exist but in the form of a memory is nothing more than that; and not true love…"

"Roger…" R. Dorothy mutters as she looks up at him. "I could never truly fall in love with Angel because she wasn't real; and because I was lying to myself all this time. I believed love was only physical; that I could only love a human because I needed the physical love a human can provide; but I was wrong…I could never love Angel because my heart always belonged to someone else; no matter how hard I tried to fight and deny it." Roger explains with a smile; tears rushing down his cheeks.

"Roger…" R. Dorothy mutters again; unable to say anything more. Roger pulls her in close; and looks deeply into her eyes. "I'm saying now something I should have said long ago; something I should have said every single day…" Roger says as he gently caresses her face with his fingers, "…R. Dorothy Wayneright; I love you!"

With those words; Roger pulls her in tight and kisses her with a passion that only comes from true love. They put their arms around each other as they embrace tightly; time slowing down almost to a stop as they continue to kiss.

"It is done…" Big Venus states suddenly; as Roger and R. Dorothy slowly release their embrace. "It is done…" R. Dorothy repeats; nodding gently at Big Venus.

Roger looks around a little in confusion; and watches as Big Venus suddenly starts to evaporate and disappear.

"Angel?" Roger asks, walking towards the edge of the cockpit. "You have learned what you needed to; Roger Smith…the experiment is over. Goodbye, Roger Smith…thank you for teaching me; a sentient program; the true meaning of love." Big Venus states as it dissipates into particles of light from the ground up.

"That was it all along…" Roger states, "…She just wanted to understand love…that's all it was…"

As Big Venus dissipates; the blank grid that used to be Paradigm City starts to break apart and fade away; revealing the true Paradigm City; hidden for so many years from Roger's view.

"Paradigm…" Roger mutters; staring in disbelief at the city below him; undamaged, unchanged and still alive with people and life.

R. Dorothy walks up next to him at the edge of Big O's cockpit and he puts his arm around her. "Looks like life will finally start again..." Roger begins with a smile, "…But this time; it's following my script."

Author's Notes:

Well; I hope you all like this so far! I know that R. Dorothy and Roger had to end up together; since I cried when they didn't at the end of Big O. Sorry to have to say this here; but I wanted to say it. ;


	10. Chapter 10: The answer

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 10, "The answer":

(Author's notes on bottom)

"And that's what happened…" Roger Smith explains to William Prime as they both sit on the park bench in the city.

"Roger…" A voice states; and they both turn to see R. Dorothy standing behind them. "Wow; I didn't even hear her come up…I must be getting deaf…" William mutters sheepishly to himself.

"R. Dorothy? What are you doing here?" Roger asks her. "I heard you leave; and I followed you here," she explains, and then appears to smile a little bit, "Thank you."

"For what?" Roger asks, a little confused. "For not being a louse anymore." She replies; taking a seat next to him.

"Um…not to interrupt here or anything; but…" William begins; raising his hand into the air a little. "Oh, right; sorry…" Roger replies with a slight laugh; removing his shades again.

"Well; after that; I began my new life in the true Paradigm City; with R. Dorothy. The city was isolated; as I found out; and no one ever left or entered the city because of the experiment. After the experiment ended; I thought that would change…but it didn't. People just continued to live their lives as if it were still happening; and nothing that I did changed that. You're one of the first visitors to this city in quite some time…people just don't come here anymore. It's almost as if the rest of the world has forgotten about us…almost as if the experiment is still going on…" Roger explains with a sigh; placing his hands on either side of his head.

"Well; I know that the experiment has ended; it was reported by the news in Brasilli. Honestly; I didn't pay much attention to it; since it didn't matter to me at the time; but I do remember hearing about it." William replies.

"That's good then…" Roger replies; his voice trailing off.

William sits up a bit more and looks over at him again. "Anything else happen after that?" He asks him.

"Not really, William. Time passed; and all of the people I had known from before didn't exist any more. Angel, Norman, Dan…they were all gone; along with the experiment. There was a few times that I thought I saw them; but it was their real world counterparts; the people that they had been based upon. When they designed that experiment; they did it well." Roger replies.

"That's amazing…" William states in awe of Roger's story. "What is?" R. Dorothy asks him. "Everything about that…the experiment; the revelation; the fact that you two are still here despite everyone else being gone…" He replies, then rubs his chin a little bit, "…Makes me wonder about what Alan said…he wasn't lying, was he?"

"Lying?" Roger asks him with a little confusion. "It's just that…no; it doesn't matter. It's in the past; and the fact is that it's over; and only you, R. Dorothy and Big O exist to tell of it." William replies with a reaffirming smile.

"What was he lying about?" Roger asks him; ignoring William's comment. "Well; now that I think about it; maybe it wasn't so much him lying as it was him assuming he knew all the facts…" William replies, "…Like when he told me that Seldano was actually Wayneright; that was a lie…but then again; maybe he didn't actually know the truth behind it and just said that; assuming it was right since it seemed to make sense in his mind." William explains.

"I see…" Roger replies, "…Was there anything else that he was wrong about?" "Well; I already told you what I could remember from our conversation. I'm sure there were other things that were wrong as well; but it was the ravings of man who had lost his sanity long ago…I guess I shouldn't have believed as much of what he said as I did." William replies; looking away sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, William. We all make mistakes; and we are all lead blindly sometimes. That's what life's about; learning and growing from those mistakes. You wouldn't believe how much I've changed over these past years since the end of the experiment." Roger states.

"I can imagine…" William states; smiling a little as he looks over at him. Just then; a beam of light hits his face; causing him to try to block it with his arm.

"Wow, it's already dawn?" Roger replies. "Time flies…" R. Dorothy states, causing both of them to look at her. "That is the proper use of that expression; is it not?" She asks; and both William and Roger laugh a little bit. "Yes, it is, Dorothy…" Roger replies with a smile as he looks down at her.

"Should we go back to your place then?" William asks him. "Yes; that's a good idea, William." Roger nods. They all get up and start to walk out of the park as the Sun's warming rays begin to penetrate the chill of the evening; leaving a slight dew on the windows of the shops in town.

They walk back to Roger's place; walking towards the main living room as they enter. "You know; that is one thing I do miss about the experiment…" Roger suddenly states as he hangs up his suit jacket. William looks up at him as R. Dorothy walks by and into another room. "What's that?" William asks him, slowly removing his suit jacket.

"Norman Burg…he was a good man; and I never got to thank him properly for everything that he did for me," Roger states; looking blankly across the room, an image of Norman in his mind. "He may just have been an illusion of reality; but he was real to me." Roger finishes.

"You miss him because he's not here to clean up after you anymore." R. Dorothy states; appearing at a doorway adjacent to the room.

"That's not it at all…" Roger yells; getting mad for a moment; but then he calms down and sighs, "…That's not it. Sure, I loved having to not have to do my own laundry and everything else; but I miss him as a person; not because of what he did."

"I was only joking Roger Smith; trying to lighten the mood." R. Dorothy replies and walks out of the room again. "You two really are something else…" William laughs as he hangs up his coat finally. Roger watches as he walks past him; unsure of what to say in response; but eventually decides to say nothing and follows him into the living room.

William takes a seat in one of the chairs; holding his hands together in front of him as Roger sits directly across from him. "Have you ever been in love before, William Prime?" Roger asks him.

"What?!" William shouts; totally shocked by the question. Roger flinches a little; taken back by William's reaction; but moments later recovers and asks the same question again.

"I…I can't say…" William replies in a mutter. "Not really sure if it was true love?" Roger asks him. "Not so much that; but rather I…" William begins; but stops himself in mid-sentence, "…I just can't say about it. I can't talk about it; sorry."

"Alright; I understand." Roger replies with a nod. "You do?" William asks; a little confused now. He sits up a little in the chair and stares at Roger in confusion. "I understand that you can't talk about it now. We all have secrets we have to keep." Roger replies.

"Heh; you're still good…" William replies; leaving Roger a little perplexed. "What…" Roger begins to ask when William waves his hand a little bit; causing him to trail off in mid-sentence.

"You're still a good negotiator; I mean," William states with a smile, "You almost convinced me to tell you about what happened. That was very clever; but unfortunately; I can't discuss it. It's still too painful; and it's something I have to come to terms with before I can discuss it with anyone else."

"Thank you, William Prime." Roger replies, now leaving William confused. "For what?" William replies, "I more or less just shot down your attempt at finding out about my past. How is that something to thank me over?"

"No, I mean thanks for telling me that I'm still a good negotiator. This is a thankless job; and more often than not I get people who are pissed off at me for not doing things like they think it should be done and so on. I rarely get compliments these days; and it's nice to finally hear a sincere one again." Roger explains.

He smiles and laughs a little; out of happiness. William shrugs a little bit, accepting the reason. "You're welcome then, Roger Smith." William replies with a smile as well.

"I'm really surprised that I'm not tired; speaking I didn't sleep at all last night." William states after a few moments of silence. "It's amazing what an active mind can do." Roger comments, waving his hand a little to emphasize the comment.

"Do you like scrambled eggs, William Prime?" R. Dorothy asks; suddenly appearing next to him with a tray of food. "Oh, I didn't realize you had made breakfast…" Roger replies; looking up at her.

"Yes. Since Norman is not here anymore; I have to do take care of his duties. You know that, Roger." She replies; looking over at him. "I know…but I just wasn't expecting it…" Roger laughs; trying to avoid sounding stupid.

"Yes, R. Dorothy; I like scrambled eggs. You didn't have to make me anything." William replies; looking up at her as he remains seated. She doesn't reply; but instead just sets the food down on the small coffee table between William and Roger. "Well; thank you for the food; R. Dorothy." William replies with a polite nod; and she lightly nods in response.

"She's something else alright…" William laughs a little to himself as he picks up a fork, "You're a lucky man, Roger Smith."

"I know that now…" Roger smiles happily; grabbing his fork and proceeding to eat some of the breakfast. All of a sudden; a loud blaring sound breaks the mood; and causes both Roger and William to drop the their forks on the floor.

"What the…?" William begins; reaching down into his pocket automatically. "The sound's coming from your device…" Roger replies; leaning forward and looking at William as he pulls out the device and looks at it.

"That's strange…" William responds, scratching his head a little. "What is it?" Roger asks. "It says the same thing as before; but it's addressing me…I think…" William responds. "What does it say?" Roger asks him. William looks up at him with confusion, "It says, 'The answer to all lies in Paradigm, Dominous.'".

Author's notes:

What is this new development? Why is the device referring to William as a dominous now; or is it even referring to him in the first place? Keep watching and find out! (And hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as these last 3 did. ; ).


	11. Chapter 11: The discussion

'Iron Fist Wedding' Chapter 11, "The discussion":

"…I'm not sure if he'll wake up this time…" a voice quietly states not too far away. "He's really out of it…that's for sure." Another voice comments, coming from the same general direction.

"What's going on?" William Prime groggily states, slowly rising from a bed with his hand on his forehead. His eyes squint in the glare of the morning Sun poking through the nearby window.

R. Dorothy Wayneright and Roger Smith stand near his bed, leaning over him as they look down at him. "What a relief! You finally woke up!" Roger states with a deep sigh, momentarily looking down at his watch.

William looks up at them with confusion. "Finally woke up? What do you mean?" He asks, a little unsure of the situation. "You've been asleep all night, but you were mumbling in your sleep," Roger begins, "We weren't sure if you were just asleep or if you having a nightmare, and we tried to wake you but you said you were already awake. It wasn't very reassuring, to say the least."

"That…that's impossible," William states, rising from the bed and sitting up fully, "I know I was up all last night, talking with you. R. Dorothy made us breakfast and my device flashed a message to me for the first time; addressing me as a dominous."

"A dominous?" R. Dorothy states; looking over at Roger. "Hmm…" Roger thinks for a moment. He walks over to the nearby nightstand and picks up William's device. He rubs his thumb across it as he examines it, and then walks back over to William. "This device has been sitting here all night, ever since we took you to bed. You fell asleep on the park bench just a few hours before sunrise, and R. Dorothy carried you to bed."

"That can't be…I remember it all so vividly…" William remarks, taking the device from Roger's hand and looking at it. The device sits blankly in his hand, doing nothing at all as he stares in contempt at it. "I know that I had this device in my hand at breakfast, and it said, 'The answer to all lies in Paradigm, Dominous.' There's no possible way I was dreaming that…was there?" He asks himself, still in disbelief.

"I may be just an old man now, William, but even I haven't had delusions yet. Has this happened before?" Roger asks. William hangs his head in shame, sighing deeply before speaking. "It has." He replies solemnly. "Oh?" R. Dorothy asks him. "Yes. Ever since I got this device it's given me dreams and experiences I never had. It's made me believe something really happened when nothing at all happened. In fact; I've always read text and messages on the device; but I've never once actually seen anything on it myself." William explains.

He sighs again, and scratches his side a little as he moves the bed sheets from on top of him and slings his legs over the side of the bed. "This damn device…I took every spare moment I had ever since I got this thing and read up on it. I read the manual with it and it never said anything about causing delusions…something is really wrong here." William states with a slight tone of dismay in his voice.

"You mentioned that it always shows you messages…" R. Dorothy queries, "…what do these messages say?" "It's always the same, 'The answer to all lies in Paradigm'." William responds, "To be honest, this device is driving me mad. I feel like it's testing me…testing my mental capacity to deal with delusional dreams and cryptic messages that make no sense at all."

"Something that still bothers me is that it referred to you this time as a dominous." Roger states, holding his chin in thought. His foot taps lightly on the ground in thought; his hand moving his chin back and forth a little in rhythm with the tapping. R. Dorothy stares at him blankly as he thinks.

"There are 4 Megadeuses that I know of, although only one exists currently," Roger states, breaking the silence, "Big Duo, Big Fau, Big Venus and Big O; the latter being the only existing one. There were smaller Deuses, but they were not named; nor did they have pilots. Only a Megadeus has a pilot referred to as a dominous." He looks over at William, who stares at him blankly, still sitting on the edge of the bed in the suit he had on the night before.

"Is it possible that you are a dominous?" Roger asks with little emotion. "It would explain why it keeps telling me that the answer to all lies in Paradigm…this is the only place where Megadeuses haven't been outlawed." William replies, "But still, even so, why would this device tell me this? I never had anything to do with this device before it was given to me by a dying friend as a protection measure. I didn't create it nor did I do anything to have it tailored to me in any way."

"And even more so, there is only one Megadeus around: the Big O, and it already has a pilot." R. Dorothy chimes in. Roger nods his head in agreement. "This is a most perplexing problem," Roger comments, his eyes closed in thought, "Perhaps we need to talk to the person who gave you this device, William."

"That's not possible," William starts, a sad tone to his voice, "The man who gave me this died just minutes after giving it to me. It was something he had developed at work and I never knew of it until he gave it to me; and he gave it to me to protect from the people at his work." "Maybe that's it…" Roger begins. "What?" William asks with confusion. "Maybe the device wanted you to get away from Brasilli; away from the people whom it's creator didn't want to have it." Roger explains, motioning with his hands as he theorizes.

Staring blankly into the screen just as blankly as it stares back at him, William rubs his finger across the device's keys and silently thinks to himself. "It is possible, but wouldn't that level of thought and sophistication require intelligence, or at least some preplanned setup?" William asks, looking up at Roger and R. Dorothy. "I don't know the man who gave this to you nor your relationship with him; I can't really say what was done to the device before you got it." Roger retorts.

"Come to think of it…" William ponders, "…The Professor did call me specifically after he fell ill. There's no reason he couldn't have planned for me to have it all along; as a precaution against his colleagues or others using it for ill deeds…" "How much did he trust you?" Roger asks, leaning forward with a serious look on his face. William leans back, a little surprised since his attention was more on the device at the time. "I was like a son to him; just as he was like a father to me." William replies quietly.

"You might have been the only person he could trust, so he made the device for you." R. Dorothy replies sternly. "But why?" William asks, rising from his seat, "Why would he go through all the trouble of making a device that I, as a human, could never use and yet specifically make it for me knowing full well I could never use it?"

"Did he ever tell you to use it?" Roger asks quietly. William looks at him with a look of confusion, then revelation. "No, he never did…" William mutters, "…He only said to protect it; to take care of it so it was never used for evil…" "Perhaps he never wanted it to be used at all." R. Dorothy comments.

"Maybe…but even so, I never used it; much less turned it on; and yet it _still_ causes me to have these dreams and delusions…" A loud sigh comes from William's mouth as he speaks, "…to be honest, it's driving me mad; it's blurring the line between what's real and what's a dream for me…"

"I'm not a doctor, William, I am a negotiator. All I can do is offer my thoughts; I can't tell you what's really going on because I don't know." Roger admits, standing and putting his hand on William's shoulder. William nods quietly. "Thank you." William replies solemnly.

R. Dorothy starts to walk towards the door when Roger looks over at her. "Where are you going?" He asks. She turns around a little. "I'm going to get William's clothes out of the dryer. They should be done by now." She replies and leaves the room. "Oh, you washed my suit? I hope it didn't shrink…" William comments, finally noticing he's now in a robe similar to the one Roger is wearing. "Don't worry; my suit's never shrink. R. Dorothy's a professional when it comes to cleaning suits." Roger laughs a little, putting his arm around William's shoulder as he leads him out of the room.

"I guess this whole experience has left me with more questions than anything else…" William comments, "…My mind is still racing with thoughts. Even though it's my job to solve mysteries and figure things out; this really has me perplexed." "I'd say to just give it a rest for now and try to enjoy your time here, William," Roger comments as they walk, "I'm sure the answers will come in time."

Roger suddenly laughs a little, putting his hands into the pockets of his evening robe. "What's so funny?" William asks, looking over at him in confusion. "You know, even I am getting perplexed by that device of yours…" Roger comments, a little laugh still in his voice, "…It would seem that your device affects others too; not just you." Fiddling a little with the device in his pocket, William joins in the light laughter a little. "So what's perplexing you, Roger Smith?" He asks.

"The dominous line…it's something that strikes close to home for me; being the only dominous operator around that I know of." Roger comments, "It would be amazing if you were one too; and if you had a Megadeus like Big O." "It's doubtful…" William mutters sheepishly, sighing a moment later, "…I know nothing of Megadeuses much less operating one, and beyond that you said there is only one left and I have no intention of piloting or desire to pilot the Big O."

This makes Roger laugh louder, causing him to pat William on the back as well. "Don't worry, William, I'm not going to let you pilot it. The Big O's mine." Roger comments with a friendly smile as he walks away towards the kitchen. William remains behind, watching him leave the room. "You have your Big O, Paradigm's Negotiator Roger Smith…" William comments, taking the device out of his pocket and holding it in front of him, "…And I have this device…this nameless, expressionless, motionless device that somehow affects and directs my life just as much as your Megadeus does for you."

A few moments pass before William walks into the kitchen to see Roger now with an apron on, standing in front of the stove. "What are you doing?" William asks casually as he proceeds over to the stove and stands next to him. "Helping out." Roger replies nonchalantly. William squints his eyes a little, leaning over to look into Roger's eyes. "But doesn't R. Dorothy make the food around here?" He asks suspiciously.

"Don't overanalyze it, William. She makes the meals, yes, but that doesn't mean I don't help out now and then or make a meal for myself occasionally." He states; turning to look at William directly. "I'm an old man, William, not dead."

William laughs a little nervously. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." He comments quietly, and then motions with his hands, "Need any help?" Roger laughs a little as well, but with satisfaction and peace in his voice. "No," he starts, "But thank anyway."

Making his way into the living room William takes a seat on the sofa. Stretching his legs out, he looks to his left to see R. Dorothy staring blankly at him. He jumps a little and straightens out, sitting up straight. "I didn't know you were there! Sorry…" William replies, bowing a little to her. "No need to apologize. You were probably wondering why Roger was in there making food and I was not," R. Dorothy replies without expression, "Am I correct?"

"No…I mean yes, but no…" William replies, "More or less I'm wondering why you both are making food and I am not." "Please explain what you mean, William Prime." R. Dorothy comments, leaning in towards him a little.

"You have shown me such kindness and generosity…giving me food and board for a month now and I have done nothing to thank you, much less repay you…" William comments. R. Dorothy nods a little in response. "So you feel you owe us something, is that it?" She asks him, tilting her head ever so slightly.

William moves his head from side to side just a little, his reluctance to speak clearly evident by his movements. "Yes…" He finally admits, hanging his head in shame, "…As I told Roger, I'm not one to rely on others, much less depend upon them so utterly as I have with you two; and it makes me feel inadequate and like a homeless person by doing so."

"But you are homeless here, are you not?" She asks him coldly. "That's beside the point!" He retorts, raising his voice a little but not to quite a yelling level. He quickly regains his composure and sighs. "I need to do something to thank you properly."

"What did you have in mind?" She asks, causing him to look over at her. "You're going to accept my offer?" William asks, genuinely confused. "That depends upon what you have in mind." She replies, her expression unchanging. "Well; how much does it cost to live here?" He asks her. "Daily, monthly or annually? With or without utilities? Per person or altogether?" She asks him, causing him to back up a little uneasily.

He reaches into another pocket on his robe and pulls out his wallet. "Um…" He states, looking at his wallet in confusion, "…I don't have any cash…I need to go to the bank." William replies. "You could just use one of our computer systems here to transfer money between bank accounts, could you not?" R. Dorothy asks. "I could…but I don't really trust those things. Besides, it's impersonal…I'd rather repay you in cash."

"You don't have to do that." A voice states from behind them, and they turn to see Roger walk into the room. "But I insist…I have to do something to thank you for all you've done for me; and since I can't offer any of my services as a negotiator to someone who is already a negotiator; money seems to be the only logical alternative." William replies.

Roger grimaces, setting the food he prepared on the table in front of them and taking a seat. "Seriously, you don't have to go through all that trouble, William. I don't need you to do anything to thank me." He comments.

William looks over at him with a little confusion in his eyes. "Roger, what is it?" He asks. Roger looks back at him, a little surprised but unchanging in his expression. "What is what?" Roger replies coldly. "I'm a negotiator too you know. I can tell when someone's hiding something…" William replies, "What is it?"

"I don't want to discuss it." Roger replies coldly, picking up his cup of coffee and sipping it a little to hide his face. "Roger hates going to the bank." R. Dorothy replies, causing Roger to choke on his coffee and spit a little. "R. DOROTHY WAYNERIGHT!" Roger shouts, rising from his chair and tossing down his cup of coffee, spilling it all over the floor.

William rises to his feet and stares in shock at what just happened. He then looks up at Roger; who's fists are clenched with seething anger. "Why don't you want to go to the bank, Roger Smith?" William asks him, regaining his composure and staring down his negotiator counterpart eye to eye. "I don't want to talk about it…" Roger begins, "…And you'd better not tell him, R. Dorothy Wayneright!"

"He's going to find out one way or another," R. Dorothy begins, cleaning up the spilled coffee with a towel, "And besides, wouldn't you rather him find out from you directly than have me tell him or find out on his own?" Roger stares down William even more, but then finally sits down, releasing his clenched fists but still grimacing. "I hate it when you're right." He replies quietly.

"Why don't you want to go to the bank, Roger Smith?" William asks, still standing and now looking down at him. "Because…" Roger begins, trying hard to force out the words, "…Because there's a remnant of my past there, one I despise and wish I didn't remember…one that makes me mad just remembering it…" "Tell me…" William demands sternly, leaning over Roger and looking him directly in the eyes.

Roger looks up at him coldly. He simply replies, "Beck."


End file.
